Strictly Business
by darthwhatever
Summary: Rex bets Jade that she cant get in Tori's pants by the end of the week. She thinks its easy money, but what Jade didn't expect was that she'd actually find herself falling for the girl. Set after TGP.
1. The Bet

I slam my locker shut, sending vibrations through the whole thing. I pick my bag up from the tile floor and quickly make my way to our little group's usual table in the quad, not wanting to waste any more of my lunch. Stupid Sikowitz wouldn't let me leave until I made up an acting exercise I had missed when I ditched his class last week. I reach the circular table and sit in between Andre and Cat and across from Robbie. Everyone greets me while I look around in confusion, noticing we're two short today.

"Where are Oliver and Vega?" I ask casually. Nobody really bats an eye at my question, all of them knowing that by now Beck and I are on somewhat _okay_ terms while Vega and I have become…acquaintances, I guess you can say. She's tolerable, let's just leave it at that.

"Tori is rehearsing for the play and I think Beck is hanging out with some girl today," Andre answers, looking a bit scared at the mention of Beck and another girl. In the past I would most likely be fuming, but now I couldn't care less about what he does or _who_ he does.

"Oh, okay," I shrug and Andre visibly relaxes at my calm response.

"I'm totally going to see that new play opening night. Miss Tori Vega in a short blue dress with leggings, _hot damn_," Rex exclaims. This year the drama department has decided to do a rendition of Alice in Wonderland and of course little miss cheekbones got the lead. But that's only because _I_ didn't try out.

"Really, Rex?" I chuckle slightly before looking at Robbie, "I thought you had your sights set on a certain redheaded idiot?"

"Who's that?" Cat asks, completely clueless. I shake my head at her and then turn my attention back to the puppeteer.

"Well, we _are_ men," Rex states matter-of-factly, "Or at least one of us is a man. And I _don't_ mean Robbie."

I take a French fry from Andre's plate as he and Cat tune in curiously to mine and Robbie's conversation. Or I guess it's mine and Rex's conversation, seeing as how he won't let Robbie get a word in.

"So if Vega came over here and asked you out, you'd say yes, even though you like someone else?" I ask, munching on another fry.

"I wouldn't even be able to answer her cause I would have died from shock," Rex says, making Andre and Cat laugh.

"It's true," Robbie finally speaks, "Tori is like one of those dream girls that you fantasize about, but you know you'll never be able to have."

"Or even get in her pants just for one night," Rex chimes in. We all shoot him a weird look and I'm sure we're all thinking the same thing.

"Alright, chill it Rex, that _is_ my best friend you're talking about, you know," Andre says and Cat nods in agreement.

"Wait, I thought Robbie already wore girl pants, why would he want Tori's?" Cat suddenly asks in confusion. I groan and resist the urge to slap my hand to my forehead.

"Forget it, Cat," I say, quickly dismissing her, "Anyways; I'm sure it wouldn't be that hard. Usually it's the ones that seem all sweet and innocent that are secretly the kinkiest." I smirk at the thought of little Tori Vega having a wild side.

"Well, just because a girl is kinky doesn't mean she's easy," Robbie says timidly, most likely afraid I'll rip him apart for disagreeing with me.

"This is true," I muse, "Plus, I'm sure you wouldn't be able to get into anyone's pants, period." I snicker and Robbie blushes in response, ducking his head to avoid my gaze.

"Well you're one to talk," Rex mumbles before speaking up, "Not like you could get to her either."

"Is that a challenge?" I ask incredulously, leaning forward a bit.

"Whoa guys, I think you're taking this a bit too far now," Andre steps in, shooting a glare to Rex and I; we both ignore him.

"I believe it is," Rex exclaims before lowering his voice, "A hundred bucks says you can't get Tori into bed by the end of the week."

I raise an eyebrow and smirk at the wooden doll. "_Two_ hundred says I can."

"I think we have ourselves a bet." Judging by his tone, I'm sure if Rex could smirk, that is exactly what he'd be doing right about now.

"Okay, I don't want any part in this," Andre stands up abruptly and I glare at him.

"You won't say a word about this," I order and then turn to look at Cat. "_Got it?"_ I ask harshly. She gulps and nods at me, pretending to pull an invisible zipper across her lips.

"Why do you even want to do this?" Andre asks with a frustrated tone, still standing up.

"It's strictly business," I shrug, "An easy two hundred bucks." He looks down at me in disgust and then speedily walks away from us. There's a moment of awkward silence before Cat gets up and runs after Andre, complaining she still doesn't fully understand. I shoot Rex and Robbie each one last smirk before sauntering off to find my target.

I head inside and round the corner to see her standing in front of her open locker. She glances at her lines for the play one last time before throwing the paper book in her locker with the rest of her stuff. I'm not going to lie, I've always been slightly attracted to Vega, but that's only because she's hot, not because she's sweet or funny or anything. Yeah, sure, it's only sexual attraction, that's it. Which is why this is the perfect bet; I'm basically being paid to do what I've always wanted to, which is _her_. I smirk to myself, walk over to where she is, and slam her locker shut from behind, making her jump in surprise.

"Jade, you scared the heck outta me!" she exclaims, turning to look at me. I soften my smirk and put my hands on both sides of her, leaning in until I have her backed up flat against the lockers.

"Sorry, Vega," I murmur and stare into big brown eyes that are always so expressive. That's one reason why I always say she needs to work on her acting; you can always see her real emotion in her eyes and they constantly give her away. But anyways, back to the situation at hand. I hear her breathing hitch and we share a moment of tensed silence, neither one of us willing to break it.

"Um, w-what can I h-help you with, Jade?" she stutters out, breaking eye contact to stare at the floor.

"Let's go out, just you and me," I say quietly, "Think of it as our second date," I smirk and she looks at me in confusion and for a split second I'm afraid she'll reject me.

She tilts her head slightly and asks, "When was our first date?" Her voice is still shaky, but her breathing seems to have evened out.

"Why, you don't remember our first date, Walter?" I gasp in fake horror, using the voice I love to mock her with.

"I do _not_ talk like that!" she exclaims before playfully glaring at me and I let out a genuine laugh.

"Well, I think that's open to interpretation, don't you? But that wasn't my question, you know." I pull her chin up and force her to look at me again. I can see the nervousness behind her eyes, but overpowering that is burning curiosity. The fact that she's always been like a curious child who's always ready to explore lets me already know what her answer will be; she really doesn't even need to say it.

"Oh, um, yeah sure," she answers with a smile, "How about tomorrow night, since it'll be Friday," she suggests.

I lean in even closer and press my lips against her jaw, trailing downwards to leave a lingering kiss at the corner of her mouth. "Perfect."


	2. First Timer

I wake the next morning earlier than usual. My outfit is carefully chosen, a black skirt with a low-cut shirt, and make-up that make my green eyes pop. Not because I want to impress Vega or anything like that, I just want to see her squirm. That's always highly entertaining. I curl my hair as I start to strategically devise my plan. Seven days isn't a lot to work with, especially since I'm dealing with goody-two-shoes Vega over here. I know I'll have to move things along quickly with her and maybe I'll get her in bed with my by the last day. The more I think about it, the more I realize that maybe this is going to be harder than expected. Vega has almost every guy at Hollywood Arts drooling after her and she's only officially dated two of them. And one of them didn't even go to our school. To say she isn't easy would be an understatement.

Thoughts about our newly formed…acquaintanceship cross my mind, but I quickly push them aside. Though I know this will probably ruin whatever it is we have, I don't care. I'm Jade West; I don't need people, _they_ need _me._ I hardly even convince myself as I think this.

I get to school with a good fifteen minutes to spare and seek out the brown eyed girl. Even though the hallway is crowded with stupid kids, I can hear Vega and Cat around the corner at Vega's locker. I quickly hide behind the wall as I hear the mention of my name, wanting to know what's being said about me.

"…so happy, Cat," I hear Vega exclaim, "I can't believe she finally asked me out!" I tense up, straining my ears to hear Cat's response, needing to know whether she'll snitch on me or not.

"Are you sure that's such a good idea?" she asks nervously before continuing on with one of her 'one time my brother…" stories. I roll my eyes and wait for the stupid story to be over with already.

"Um, I don't even know how to respond to that," Vega says, sounding confused. I think Cat's stories confuse everyone to a point where you can't even be sure whether she's making them up or not. I listen more intently as I hear Vega speak again. "But you know I've liked Jade for forever now and I'm not going to pass this up." My eyes widen at the confession and I'm not even sure what emotions I'm feeling at the moment. Confusion is definitely one of them and there's another I can't quite put a name to.

"Well, I'm just saying, you might want to ask her why she wants to go out with you all of a sudden," she mumbles. I softly touch my forehead to the wall next to me and shake my head. Leave it to clueless Cat Valentine to be so clever yet so stupid at the same time.

"Of all the people to ruin this…" I mutter to myself before fixing the hem of my shirt and making my way around the corner to Vega's locker. They both abruptly shut up when they see me approaching, Vega's cheeks turning an enticing shade of pink and Cat's eyes widening in obvious fear.

"Hello ladies," I smirk at Vega before shooting a menacing glare to Cat, silently telling her to keep her mouth shut. Cat scurries off without a word, leaving a certain Vega and me alone to play.

"H-Hi, Jade," she stutters, her eyes widening and her blush deepening as she takes in my outfit.

"So, I don't know about you, but I'm excited for tonight," I say smoothly, my smirk still perfectly in place. Vega smiles widely, a small dimple I never noticed before making an appearance in her left cheek.

"I am, too, I'm really excited," she pushes her hair behind her ear, seeming to be a nervous habit of hers. Why I've picked up on this, I'm not sure. The bell rings and we simultaneously look up, as if expecting to _see_ the sound somewhere above us. We're both stupid, I know.

"Can I walk you to class?" I offer, a soft smile replacing the smirk. She nods her head, looking down at the floor as she leads the way.

The rest of the day passes by easily. I walk Vega to all her classes and flirt with her and then laugh as she _attempts_ to flirt back. Key word _attempts_ and usually failed ones at that. At lunch Andre glares at me when I sit close to Vega and then he storms away from the table, leaving Vega and Beck in confusion. The other three- well four, counting the puppet –of us know exactly what's going on. Cat looks uncomfortable, but somehow Robbie manages to look like his normal creepy self. We all talk and laugh and surprisingly, it's one of the best days I've had in a long time. Okay, so _maybe_ the good day has had something to do with Vega, but that is a _huge_ maybe.

When school ends I find Vega once again at her locker. Smirking, I lean in close to her ear and let my hands grip her waist tightly. She jumps slightly and I hear her breathing hitch, but she doesn't turn around to face me.

"I'll pick you up at eight," I whisper and place a tiny kiss on her ear before turning around and walking away.

I get home quickly and just hang around my house the next few hours, doing nothing really. At around six-thirty I get in the shower and start to get ready for my date- I mean, _fake_ date. I'm ready within an hour and take my time as I drive to Vega's. I'm not nervous, not at all. Okay, so maybe I have the _slight_ feeling of butterflies in my stomach, but they don't mean anything.

It's eight o'clock on the dot when I arrive at her house. I get out of my car and walk up to her front door, hesitating for a moment before knocking loudly. Vega opens the door a few seconds later, looking unexpectedly stunning. She's wearing really short shorts and a tank top with a red denim vest over. I take in her appearance as she takes in mine before a light blush crosses her cheeks.

"Um, you look great, Jade," she says without stuttering for once.

"You don't look too bad yourself," I smile and then grab her hand to lead her to my car.

The drive is short and comfortably quiet, except for the few times Vega opens her mouth to ask where we're going. We pull into the crowded parking lot and Vega's face lights up like a freakin Christmas tree.

"You're taking me to the carnival?" she asks in disbelief.

"You act like you've never been to one before," I roll my eyes and shut off the engine before turning to see Vega sitting there with a guilty smile.

"Wait, you've seriously never been to the carnival before?" I ask in shock and confusion.

"My parents said they tried to take us when I was two, but apparently Trina got car sick and threw up so we had to turn around and go home," she shrugs, the smile falling a bit. "But I guess I am kind of making too big deal out of this, aren't I?"

I shake my head quickly. "No, not at all; come on, let's go have some fun," I say and her smile picks back up again. I don't understand why I feel so bad for her; it's basically just a mini amusement park. But I suppose it's because it's one of those standard things that every child should experience. Hell, even _my_ shitty parents took me.

We both exit the car I take her hand in mine as I buy us a substantial amount of tickets to last us a few hours. She looks around at all the people and rides and lights and I know I made the right choice in bringing her here. _Focus, Jade, you're only doing all this to win a bet_, I remind myself.

"So what do you want to do first?" I ask as I pull her inside. She smiles widely at me and puts a hand under her chin as she pretends to think.

"Hmmm…how about we go on some of the rides first and then you can win me a stuffed animal?" she squeezes my hand and gives a flirty smile, making me give a genuine laugh.

"Cheesy much, Vega?" I tease, not knowing where all my niceness is coming from. "Fine, let's see what's up with these lame rides."

Our hands never part as we get on the rides, Vega having the time of her life and me loving the feeling of seeing her so happy. _Whoa, snap out of it, Jade, you're only trying to get in her pants_, I thinkas I start to realize I'm enjoying this far too much. I'm enjoying _her_ far too much.

"Come on, before the line gets too long!" Vega exclaims, gripping my hand tightly as she leads me through the crowd quickly to get to the Ferris wheel. The line is short and moves along speedily, much to Vega's pleasure. We sit close together, my arm around her shoulder tightly, as we start traveling upwards. I watch Vega as she stares out into the night sky, her eyes wide in awe as she takes in the endless amount stars that are so rarely seen in the city.

"Easily amazed, are we?" I ask in a teasing tone. She blushes slightly and finally moves her eyes away from the stars to look at me.

"It's like looking right into infinity. How can you _not_ be amazed?" She gives a small smile and I can't help but return it. She reaches up and takes my hand in hers, pulling it tighter around her shoulder like a hug. A few seconds of blissful silence pass before she hesitantly speaks again.

"Um, J-Jade, just out of c-curiosity," she starts with a stutter, "Why _did_ you ask me out all of a sudden?"


	3. One Step Closer

I look at her in surprise and try to come up with a good answer. I obviously can't tell her it's to win some stupid bet; that would crush her and I don't want that. I mean, I _wouldn't _want that _if_ I cared that much about her feelings. "Um, well, I guess you just kind of grew on me, Vega," I smile, mentally praising myself for being so smooth so fast. She blushes and lets out a breath of relief, obviously pleased with my response. She snuggles up against my side and we fall into comfortable silence once again.

A few minutes later the ride comes to a stop at the bottom and we exit carefully. Vega grabs my hand tightly, leading me over to all the game booths.

"Really, Vega?" I groan, holding back a smile, "This is so freakin cheesy." She laughs and then starts pouting at me, her bottom lip sticking out and her hands clasped together in front of her. "Please, Jade?" she practically whimpers in a small voice. The combination of the pout and her big brown eyes are almost too much to handle and I know I can't deny her. Hey, I'm not _completely_ heartless.

"Fine," I sigh exaggeratedly and she gives a loud 'yay!' before a wide grin replaces the pout causing me to roll my eyes. "Come on, goofball," I mutter, taking her hand back in mine and dragging her to the first booth I see.

It's a game with a water gun where you're supposed to shoot the moving ducks. _This should be easy, especially since I hate ducks, _I think with a smirk. I sit down on the tall padded stool and hand the man working there my tickets. He's starting up the machine when I feel a pair of arms wrap around my neck from behind. My breathe hitches and my smirk falls slightly as she tightens her hold and rests her head on my shoulder, the butterflies in my stomach starting up again. _God, what is this girl doing to me?_ I think as the game begins and I shoot water at the ducks, only missing two or three. I would have hit _all_ of them if Vega's warm breath hadn't been tickling my ear the entire time.

"Woo!" Vega pulls away and cheers, clapping her hands, "You won!" she exclaims happily.

"Take your pick," the man says, gesturing towards the prizes hanging on the wall behind him. I smirk as my eye catches an ugly stuffed bear with uneven button eyes and a smile that's been sewn on crookedly. "That one," I nod at it and he raises an eyebrow at me then hands it over, chuckling under his breath.

"Now it's not as cheesy since the bear isn't that cute," I say as I hand it over to Vega. She simply laughs and hugs it to her chest like a little girl.

"I love it," she giggles and surprisingly the sound doesn't annoy me as much as it does when other people giggle. I laugh with her, unable to help it, and our hands immediately intertwine as we start walking again.

Another hour or two passes in a blur of games and rides and junk food before we finally decide we're both too tired to keep going. Well, actually Vega admits she's tired and I tease her about it, but honestly I'm just as wiped out. I keep my arm around her waist as I lead us to my car and she puts one arm around my shoulders while the other clutches her new stuffed animal. I open the car door for her and she smiles shyly at me before giving a quiet 'thank you.'

I shut the door when I feel my phone vibrate in my back pocket. I half expect it to be my mom asking where I am, but then remember she has to work late tonight. I stare at my phone in confusion as I walk over to get in the driver's side of my car. The text is from a number I don't have saved so I quickly hit 'open' to see what it says. My confusion turns to annoyance as I silently read to myself: '_Hey gothica, it's Rex. I heard you took out a certain brunette tonight. That's okay; you're still going to lose. Hope you have my two hundred ready.'_ Why would Robbie get him—ugh, forget it. I roll my eyes and hit the end button, not bothering to send a reply, as I start up the engine.

"Is everything okay?" Vega asks next to me. I look over to see she's biting her lip, her eyes holding a mixture of curiosity and fear.

"Yeah, it was just my mom," I answer with a shrug, my eyes flickering to her mouth. Okay, so, _maybe_ I've wanted to kiss her all night; but that is _only_ because she looks smoking hot tonight and I _am_ a teenager with raging hormones. I force my eyes away and begin to drive, forcing myself to focus on the road ahead of me. She turns on the radio to some pop station, quietly singing along under her breath.

"You know, I _have_ heard you sing before," I tease; glancing at her quickly so I don't miss the blush that I know is bound to cross her cheeks.

"Oh, um, I know," she blushes right on cue, "I just didn't want to annoy you." She adds the last part so quiet I almost miss it. I feel a pang of guilt as I realize how bad I must have been making her feel all this time, with the insults and the constant criticism. Not to mention what I'm doing to her at this very moment; using her as a pawn in a game.

I stay silent as I pull up to her house and slow the car to a stop on her curb. "I'm _so_ sorry, I really am," I whisper, looking her in the eye, apologizing for everything that's happened. I'm even apologizing for what's happening now, but of course she doesn't know this.

"Don't worry about it, Jade," she says, reaching over to take my hand in hers. She pulls it up to her lips and softly kisses my knuckles, giving me a timid smile.

"Do you want to come inside for a bit?" she asks, the atmosphere perking up at her cheerfulness. I smile at her and nod, getting out of the car to follow her inside. _This could be it_, I think and my smile falls a little bit, but I'm not too sure why. _Maybe because then it will be over for good? _I think. _Nah, that's not it._

I follow Vega inside to the all too familiar living room and we sit close together on the bright orange couch.

"Where is everybody?" I ask, looking around for any signs of life and she does the same.

"Who knows?" she shrugs, snuggling up to my side. My arm automatically goes around her shoulders to pull her tighter to me and I realize this is becoming like a natural response from me.

"Don't you get ever get lonely?" I ask, knowing she'll understand exactly what I'm talking about. Her parents are never around and Trina is, well, _Trina_. EvenI have my mom who's always there. Now she may not be the _best_ parent in the world, but she's there.

She shrugs again, closing her eyes and nuzzling her face into my neck. "I don't know," is her simple response. I rub her arm slowly, neither of us saying another word.

"What do you want to do now?" she asks a few moments later. I think about asking to go up to her room, but decide against it. She wouldn't have sex with me so soon; at least I'm pretty sure she wouldn't.

"Oh, I know!" Vega says suddenly before I can answer, "Let's go for a walk in the park, it's right down the street," she sits up straight and looks to me for approval.

"The _park_?" I chuckle, "Vega, it's like ten o'clock already, do you _want_ us to get killed?" She raises an eyebrow at me, a sly smile playing at her lips. "Is big bad Jade West afraid?" she asks in a condescending tone as she stands. I growl lowly and roll my eyes.

"Fine, let's go," I mutter, standing up next to her. _Why the hell am I letting her do this to me?_ I wonder to myself as we walk back out her front door.

We walk to the park slowly, one of my hands in both of hers as she clings onto my arm sweetly. When we get there I lead her to the swings and I sit down, pulling her onto my lap. I know I'm probably doing more than necessary, but I can't seem to help it. _It's only because there's two hundred dollars on the line_, I tell myself unconvincingly. She rests her head on my shoulder as I kick the sand to swing us back and forth.

"So, I heard you're directing a new play," she says, her hot breath tickling my neck pleasantly, "What's it about?"

"A girl who's really messed up, kind of like me," I answer quietly, somewhat surprised. She's pretty much the first person to ask about it, besides my mother.

She lifts her head to look me in the eye. "You're not messed up," she says firmly before giving a small smile, "A bit different, yes, but not messed up."

My breathing becomes uneven as I realize this is the perfect time. I lean in slowly to give her the chance to pull back, but she does no such thing. Instead she leans in too, to meet me halfway. Her lips twitch into a smile right before my lips smash into hers and I kiss her hard. She kisses back with equal fervor and my hands grip her waist to pull her closer. Her fingers run through my hair before cupping my cheek and I shiver at the feeling. I'm one step closer to my goal, but I'm not so sure about what my goal is anymore.


	4. Intensity

Her lips are soft and warm and inviting and it's like nothing I've ever felt before, as insanely cliché as that sounds. The kissing continues on and off for a while longer until we're both panting and out of breath. We pull apart and she rests her forehead on mine softly.

"We should go back to your place," I say, half-jokingly. She laughs softly and nods her head.

"Yeah, I better get home before my parents do," she says as she stands up from my lap. I don't think she quite understood the hidden meaning behind my suggestion. I repress the urge to roll my eyes and instead stand up with her and walk her home slowly, neither of us in too much of a hurry to get there. I catch her peeking at me from time to time and laugh, causing her to blush and look down at her feet. I think it's adorable as hell, but in the back of my mind a small voice reminds me not to get used to it.

When we do arrive back at her house, I walk her to the door and push her against it roughly. She gasps and her arms wrap around my neck in anticipation. I lean in and lightly brush my lips against hers, making her whimper softly. I smirk at the sound and start to apply more pressure to her lips when she slowly starts to pull away, almost making _me_ whimper. She smirks at me and throws a playful smile my way. _When did the roles reverse?_ I ask myself when I realize she's teasing me.

"It's getting late," she says, "I better get inside." Just as she's about to turn around to open the door, I grab her waist to pull our hips together tightly; giving the most pleasant friction I've ever felt.

"Don't you mean _we_ should get inside?" I growl lightly. She smiles and shakes her head before leaning in to kiss me tenderly. "Not tonight," she whispers against my lips.

"Okay," I sigh, "But I'm taking you out tomorrow night." I pull out of her embrace and she nods while biting her lip.

"Goodnight, Jade," she says softly as I walk to my car. "Goodnight, Vega," I say without turning around.

…

I groan as I hear my vibrating somewhere in the mess of blankets I call my bed. I sit up and feel around until I finally find it. I hit the green answer button without checking the caller I.D. and groggily say "Hello?"

"Hey, Rex wanted me to ask how it went go last night?" an annoyingly familiar voice says. I throw myself back on the bed and groan again.

"Robbie, it's like ten in the morning on a Saturday and you woke me up because of your stupid puppet?" I ask harshly. Hey, I'm not really a morning person; who is?

"Sorry," he says weakly, "It's just Rex—"

"Forget it," I say, cutting him off, "It went fine, but nothing's happened yet. I still have six days left, counting today, so tell _Rex_ he's asking way too early. And I don't just mean too early in the morning," I hit the end button on my phone and toss it somewhere on the carpeted floor.

I lie awake on my bed, cursing Robbie for waking me up because now I can't fall back asleep. I decide to get up and make myself coffee, knowing mom probably didn't leave any for me. We're both huge caffeine addicts. I head downstairs to the kitchen where I find her standing at the island with a cup in her hand and an empty pot in front of her, just as predicted.

"Morning," I mumble as I start preparing my own pot of coffee.

"Good morning," she smiles mischievously, "So, you got in pretty late last night, didn't you?" I roll my eyes and sigh.

"Yes, mother, I did." I keep my eyes down on the boiling water as I feel my cheeks heat up slightly.

"Were you with Beck, by any chance?" she asks, feigning indifference. This catches me somewhat by surprise; I hadn't thought of Beck in that way at all since before the breakup. Honestly, all feelings for him had long been diminished.

"No, I was with a girl last night," I answer honestly. She's already known I'm bisexual and so I know I have nothing to hide from her. Well, expect for the fact that the whole reason I'm going out with said girl is to win a bet.

"Oh," she hums, "Who's the lucky lady?"

I bite the inside of my cheek and hesitate a moment. "Tori Vega," I admit, taking a sip of my coffee to hide my rising blush.

"Oh, well, she's darling!" my mother exclaims, making me put my cup down as I stare at her in confusion. "How do you know who she is?" I ask.

"She was the one you did that play with, right? The one about the astronaut and his wife?" she reminds me and I internally groan. Figures the _one_ play my mom has seen me in was the one with Vega in it, too.

"Yeah, that was her," I sigh.

Mom smiles at me, an eyebrow raised in understanding. "Okay, I get it; you don't want to talk about your love life with me. Well, I gotta work today, so have fun with Tori," she says, taking one last drink out of her cup before walking away. I run a hand through my hair and take a deep breath. This whole thing should be interesting.

…

'_Be ready in an hour_,' I text Vega around seven o'clock. I'm already starting to get dressed myself, wanting to look good for our second—or technically _third_ – date. Tonight's outfit consists of a short skirt and somewhat low cut shirt. I usually might have worn something a bit classier, but I _am_ trying to seduce the girl. I shower, shave, and apply my make-up perfectly, if I do say so myself.

At eight-fifteen I'm standing in front of the Vega household with three white roses in hand, knocking nervously. She opens the door not a second later and smiles widely as her eyes land on the flowers.

"Hey, sorry I'm late, I stopped to get you these," I say, the nerves in full force. I'm really not sure _why_ I got her these, but I saw the flower place as I was driving along and thought she'd like them. _I only did it to score me extra points, that's it,_ I tell myself.

"Wow, thank you, Jade, I love them," I gently hand them to her and she runs the petals along her nose, inhaling their sweet scent.

"Yeah, um, the lady said that white stands for purity and innocence and so I thought of you. And I figured three roses for our third date would be kind of cute, or is it too cheesy?" I realize I'm rambling and quickly shut up, looking down at the floor. _I'm Jade West, since when do I get nervous?_ I ask myself in wonder. I hear her giggle and look back up to see she's watching me with adoring eyes.

"You're cute when you're nervous," she says and before I can respond she speedily adds, "Let me just put these in water and then we'll go." She disappears for a moment and I can hear the water from the sink running inside before she returns flowerless, the smile still well in place. We get in my car and I drive us to a small Italian restaurant not far from her house; it's not too fancy, but it's a hell of a lot better than other stupid places like Nozu. I park the car right out front and smile sweetly at Vega before getting out. She follows suit and laces her fingers through mine as we enter the not-so-busy restaurant.

"Table for two," I say to the host, a young boy who looks to be around eighteen or nineteen. He looks up from his seating chart and his eyes immediately to go to Vega, scanning over her body in a completely obvious manner. I frown as the jealousy bubbles up inside me and I feel Vega grip my hand tighter as she moves to stand behind me.

"Right this way, ladies," he says with a wink as he leads us to our table. He glances back at us and I put my arm around Vega's waist to show him she's mine. _Easy there, _I remind myself, _this is only a fake date_. I sigh quietly as we sit down and he hands us our menus before walking away with a smug grin that I just want to smack off.

"This is a nice place," Vega says, breaking me from my thoughts. I smile softly at her and nod. "I'm glad you like it." We go into conversation about our days as we eat and when she asks about my mother, I tell her all about my family and home life. She listens intently and I don't think I've ever talked so much in my life. It's different, having someone show so much care. I mean, sure Beck cared, but whenever I tried to talk to him about things at home, he would take it as me complaining and we would always end up fighting. I'm just about to ask Vega about her situation at home when I'm interrupted by the perverted waiter.

"How are we doing over here?" he asks, wiping his hands on his apron as he sends a wink Vega's way. She looks away awkwardly and I start to get angry.

"We're good," I snap, forcing his attention to me. He glares at me and I give a menacing look right back. We're staring each other down so intensely that I don't realize when Vega starts leaning over the table until our lips are inches apart. "You're also cute when you're jealous," she whispers before molding our lips together perfectly, tracing the outline of my lips with her tongue. It only lasts a couple seconds, maybe seven at most (not that I was counting or anything), before she pulls away with a smirk and sits back down in her seat. We both look up at the waiter and see his face red hot with anger and jealousy and I can't help wondering if that was what _I _looked like a few moments ago. He fakes a smile and practically stomps away back to the kitchen. Vega and I look at each other for a second before throwing our heads back in laughter.

"For the record, Tori," I say once our laughter has died down, "I'm not cute." She smiles widely and claps her hands in front of her mouth, as if to try and hide the grin from me. "What?" I ask in confusion.

"You called me Tori," she squeaks in happiness.

I roll my eyes and pick up my fork to start eating again. "Yeah, well, don't get used to it," I mumble, but her smile doesn't falter in the slightest. I can practically feel the happiness radiating off of her and all I can do is sit and wonder how someone can possibly make so much out of something so little.


	5. Coming To Terms

Ugh, I hate mornings. And all I want to do now is sleep in, especially after staying out late with Vega last night. We didn't sleep together, as expected. After dinner the rest of the night was spent at her place, talking about anything and everything, neither of us ever getting bored of the other. Or at least, _I_ didn't get bored of _her_ and hopefully she was never bored with me. _Stop overthinking it, it doesn't even matter_, I tell myself.

Anyways, this morning, well technically late afternoon, I'm awakened by the sound of my mother's obnoxious laugh. I assume she's talking on her phone until I hear another laugh, one that doesn't belong to her. I sit up in my bed and strain my ears to hear who it is. If it's an annoying friend or client of hers, I'm _definitely _not going downstairs. But after listening for a few more seconds I realize it's a voice I know all too well. I get up and head down to the living room, not caring that I'm still in my pajamas with messy hair.

"Good morning, lazy," my mother says as I enter the room. I shoot her a glare before going to stand next to her at the open front door.

"Oh, hey, Jade," Vega says as I come into her view. I give her a confused smile, "Hey, what are you doing here?" I ask.

She suddenly looks nervous and I automatically assume that either Andre or Cat have spilled the beans. _No, if she knew then she wouldn't have been laughing a minute ago_, I remind myself. "Um, you left your phone at my place last night, I just wanted to return it," she smiles shyly and I look at my mother with my eyebrow raised, telling her to get out.

"Okay, I'll just leave you two alone then," mom says with a knowing look in her eye before squeezing my shoulder and walking away from us. Once she's gone, Vega hands me my phone and her smile falters a little bit.

"I'm really sorry," she starts, "I didn't think you'd still be asleep at this time and obviously there was no way for me to contact you, but I probably should have just waited until tomorrow when I saw you at school and –"

I grab her waste tightly and pull her flush against me, my lips crashing down on hers, effectively shutting her up. Her hands tangle themselves in my hair and give a slight tug, making me moan into her mouth. I kiss her until we're both out of breath and then pull away, giving her a cocky smile. "You were rambling, baby," I say, my heartbeat quickening as I realize the pet name that slipped out, but I try my best to keep my eyes from widening. She blushes and looks down, obviously trying to contain a smile.

We hear a throat clear from behind us and each turn to see my mom standing there with a sly smile on her face and purse in her hand.

"Well, I'm heading out now ladies, have fun," she says as she walks past us out the door and I roll my eyes. Vega's blush deepens and it's the cutest thing ever.

"You wanna hang out or something?" I ask softly, grabbing her hand to pull her inside.

"Um, s-sure," she answers nervously, her bottom lip in her teeth.

"What's wrong?" I ask as I lead her to sit down on the black leather couch. She looks down again and I don't think I've ever seen her as shy as this before. "N-nothing, it's just, I don't know, I hope I'm not coming off as too clingy," she admits, her eyes finally moving up to meet mine, "I mean, we've practically spent the whole weekend together."

I can't help but laugh at her worries and she looks at me in confusion. "Tori, you know me. You know if I didn't want to spend so much time with you, I would have said it straight out." She visibly perks up, her bright smile making a long overdue appearance and I'm sure part of it is due to me calling her Tori.

"That's true," she says, "You _are_ like one of the most painfully honest people ever," she giggles and I feel my own smile fall. I've never really felt guilt like this and it's almost painful, and not the good kind of pain. I actually contemplate telling her about the bet, but decide against it, mostly because I'm too afraid to.

"Yeah," I laugh nervously and then awkwardly clear my throat.

"Does your mom know we're dating?" she asks suddenly. I look at her with a sheepish grin and nod slightly. "Why, what'd she say to you?"

She laughs a little and shakes her head. "Nothing," she answers. "Somehow I find that hard to believe," I mumble.

"So what were your plans for today?" she asks after a few moments of silence pass. I shrug and wrap an arm around her shoulder. "I didn't really have anything planned. What were you thinking we should do?" She throws a bashful smile my way and I feel my heart race, but not out of nervousness.

* * *

"Woo!" Vega yells and throws her hands up in victory as the ball knocks down all the pins, gaining her a strike and ten points added to her score. The lights are out, the lanes and games are lit up, and the music is blasting. Cosmic bowling was Vega's great idea for how we should spend our Sunday night. About an hour was spent with her trying to sell me on the idea, another hour and a half of us eating lunch (though I was really just stalling), and now here we are. But, okay, I _guess_ it's actually been kind of, sort of fun; though I will never admit that out loud.

I snap myself out of my thoughts and look up to see Vega doing a small celebration dance that doesn't at all match the music that's playing and I laugh at what a strange person she is. "Okay, goofball, my turn," I say, rolling my eyes with a playful smile as I stand up to grab a bowling ball. She dances over and sits down to watch me take my turn. I quickly throw the ball, knocking down half of the pins. The other half are knocked down in my second try and I hear Vega cheer from behind me. Out of the corner of my eye I see a man in the lane next to us glance at her and raise his eyebrows as he snickers quietly. _Same here dude, _I think as I shake my head to myself and go to sit back down next to said girl.

I wrap my arms around her waist before she can get up and pull her in close to me. I dip my head down and nuzzle my nose against her neck, chuckling to myself. "You're such a dork, you know that?" I say loud enough for her to hear over the music, but low enough so we're the only two to hear it. She wraps her arms around me, kisses my cheek softly, and we sit there embraced in each other for a wonderful few moments. I can hear the little voice in the back of my head telling me this is wrong, _so_ wrong, but there's another voice fighting it.

One voice is telling me to take her back to my place, fuck her senseless, and collect my winnings from Robbie. The other is telling me to stay in this spot, this moment, and just hold her. _There's still four days left_, I tell myself as I tighten my hold on her and let the second voice win. We stay like this for another few seconds before she pulls away and smiles softly at me. She nods towards the door with a questioning look on her face and I nod, understanding that she's asking if I wanna leave since it's already pretty late. We take off the nasty bowling shoes and return them to the front register. Vega and I leave hand in hand, but my thoughts are still a bit jumbled. I glance at our intertwined hands as I drive and wonder how the hell things got this point.

_You were only supposed to sleep with the girl and let her go, not fall in –whoa, okay, stop there_. My racing mind quickly comes to a complete halt as I almost use the dangerous four letter word. I look over at Tori once again to see she's fast asleep against the window, her pink lips slightly parted and her chest rising and falling in a slow, steady rhythm. I can't even bring myself to even think about the question burning in the far back of my head.

When we get to my house I gently undo Vega's seatbelt and lift her into my arms. She snuggles into me, her hands clutching my shirt and her face in my shoulder, as I carry her into the house and up to my room. I carefully place her on my bed and take off her shoes, but nothing else. I watch for a second as she stirs a bit, but doesn't wake and then step out into the hallway and pull out my cell. I lean against the wall next to my bedroom door and put my phone to my ear and wait for an answer.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Mrs. Vega," I start nervously, "Um, its Jade; Tori and I went bowling tonight and she fell asleep on the way so I figured she could just stay here the night?"

"Sure, that'd be fine, honey," she says in a sickeningly sweet tone, "She hates driving to school with Trina anyways," she laughs. I fake a chuckle and quickly say goodnight before slipping up and saying something stupid. I've never been good with parents or adults in general. I breathe a sigh of relief as I hang up and quickly make my way to the restroom and change into my pajamas. I rush back to my room and smile when I see Vega is still fast asleep.

I slip into my bed behind her and wrap my arms around her waist to pull her against me. I hear and feel her take a deep breath and one of her hands comes up to rub her eye. "Jade?" she whispers, turning to face me, "What time is it? I need to get home," she tries to sit up, but I tighten my arms and place a tender kiss on her neck. "It's okay, baby, I already called your mom and told her you were staying the night." She relaxes in my arms and nods once, her eyes beginning to droop once again, but staying slightly open. She moves a strand of hair from my face and the conflicting voices in my head return.

_She is _in _your bed, do it now!_ I take a deep breath and start kissing her neck, gently sucking and biting at her pulse point as one of my hands runs up and down her side. I continue these actions for about a minute or two before pulling my lips away from the skin on her neck and moving instead to her lips. I kiss her passionately, our tongues playing with each other, before we each need to come up for air.

"Sleep, baby," I murmur softly in her ear. I watch as she slowly drifts off and I finally allow myself to admit the cold, hard truth. I am in love with Tori Vega.


	6. All Bets Are Off

"Jade, sweetie, wake up," I hear Vega say next to my ear. I groan and yank the blankets up over my head. She chuckles next to me and I feel her shift to straddle my waist and I'm suddenly wide awake. I throw the covers off my face and see her sitting up on top of me, hair messy and yesterday's clothes all rumpled.

"Come on, we have to get ready for school," she says with a smile. I groan again and put my hands on her waist. "Why don't we ditch today, just you and me?" I ask with what I hope is a cute and irresistible grin. She giggles and shakes her head.

"I'd love to, believe me, but I have final rehearsals today and I can't miss it," she shrugs and gives an apologetic smile. "You could stay and watch and then we'll do something after," she suggests, her big brown eyes pleading and hopeful.

"Okay," I sigh exaggeratedly, making her laugh more and poke at my stomach. "Now lend me some clothes and let's go," she says, climbing off me.

"Wait," I sit up in my bed and grab her hand to pull her so she's seated on my lap. "I know this isn't the most romantic way to ask, but will you be my girlfriend?" I ask quickly. It's not that I'm nervous or anything, it's just I've never done this before. Usually it was always other people asking _me_ to be _theirs._

I'm brought back to reality by the sound of Vega squeaking loudly and throwing her arms around my neck. "I'll take that as a yes?" I chuckle and she pulls back to look at me, her eyes shining with uncontainable excitement. "Yes, I'd love to!" she exclaims. I hug her to me before leaning down to kiss her soft lips. _I could get used to this_, I think as her tongue shoves its way into my mouth.

* * *

We don't hide anything when we get school. A few kids give us strange looks as we walk the halls, my arm her waist protectively. I know the reason they stare and it's not because we're girls, but because we're known for hating each other. It doesn't matter though. All that matters now is that I find Shapiro and let him know it's done. On top of that, I'll have to explain the new situation to Andre and Cat. My eyes scan the hallway, but there's no sign of the puppeteer anywhere.

"Hey, are you okay?" Vega asks as we stop at her locker, "You look kind of out of it," she says in a concerned tone. I bring her hand up to my lips and kiss her palm.

"I'm fine, I just need to, um, talk to Robbie about a lighting project," I lie. Understanding crosses her features and she nods. "Well, he's supposed to fill in for Sinjin at rehearsal today for sound effects, so maybe you could talk to him there," she smiles and guilt washes over me.

"Yeah," I nod, "I'll just, uh, wait to see him there, I guess."

* * *

The majority of people take the news of us being together easily. Beck smiles and says he's happy for us, though I'm sure this only because he has a new girl of his own. Sikowitz gives a knowing wink as he drinks from a coconut. Robbie is still nowhere to be found, but Tori assures me he'll be at rehearsal so I don't think much of it.

"For reals, you guys are together?" Cat asks when we tell her, her eyes landing on me as she questions us.

"Yes, Cat, for reals," I say with a genuine smile to slyly let her know this isn't a game anymore. When she realizes I'm sincere she squeals loudly and throws her arms around me tightly before turning to Vega and squeezing the life out of her too.

"Well, she took that well," Vega laughs as we walk out to the quad for lunch. We sit at our usual table and the rest of the group soon follows.

Andre sits directly across from us, shooting me a glare every once in a while. I mouth 'I'll explain later' to him when Vega is distracted by one of Cat's random stories, but he only shakes his head and looks angrier than before. I internally groan and take a quiet deep breath.

"I'm gonna get a sandwich," he mumbles, standing up. "I'll go with you, I want a coffee," I say, standing as well. Tori looks up at me and smiles.

"Be right back," I lean down and kiss her softly before following Andre to the food truck.

"Look, Andre," I say once we're out of Vega's earshot, "I'm not playing around with her anymore, I promise. This, me and Tori, are real." He looks at me in disbelief and sighs loudly.

"Have you called off the bet with Robbie yet?" he asks.

"I'm going to today, but I haven't seen him." We stop walking and stand there facing each other.

"And are you going to tell _her_ about it?" he asks, looking me dead in the eye. I glance down and awkwardly shift my weight. "I'm not sure, I hadn't really thought about it yet," I admit.

He shrugs and backs away. "Well then it's still just as bad," he shakes his head and turns to walk away from me. "Andre!" I call, frustrated. He simply ignores me and keeps walking. I turn around myself and head back to the table. I don't understand how Andre has the nerve to chastise me; it's not like _he's_ said anything to her about it and he claims to be her 'best friend.' I sigh as I reach the table and sit down next to Vega.

"Hey, where's Andre?" she asks.

"Oh, um, he said he had a song to work on or something," I lie with a small smile. She nods easily and takes my hand in hers, giving a gentle squeeze.

"So what are we talking about?" I ask, falling into the conversation.

* * *

"Oh, by the way, if you'd really like to know, he went that way."

"Who did?"

"The White Rabbit, "

"He did?"

"He did what?"

"Went that way,"

"Who did?"

"The White Rabbit,"

"What rabbit?"

"But didn't you just say –I mean –Oh, dear, "

"Alright, cut, excellent job! Everyone take ten," Sikowitz exclaims, clapping his hands together as he watches Vega and some sophomore kid who's playing the Cheshire cat. I'm sitting in the seat next to Sikowitz with a cup of coffee in hand as we watch them run through the performance. Vega looks down at me from the stage and waves at me, a large grin on her face. I smirk and wave back playfully. I stand up as she hops off the stage and runs to me, throwing her arms around my neck.

"Hey there," I laugh, my arms going around her waist.

"I'm having so much fun with this play," she says as she pulls back to look at me, keeping her arms loosely around my neck.

"You have fun with everything you do," I roll my eyes.

She laughs and shrugs off my comment. "Oh, did you talk to Robbie about that project?" she asks and I frown a little. I hadn't forgotten, but it just felt kind of risky to talk to him about this with Vega so close. "Not yet, but I'll go find him right now," I smile just a little bit.

She nods and then looks around, searching for someone. "Okay, well, while you talk to him I'm going to go talk to Sikowitz about a few of the scenes."

"You're going to ask him if you can keep the costume afterwards, aren't you?" I ask, recalling the time she begged him to let her keep Walter's mustache from the play _we_ did together. Of course her big brown eyes were too hard to say no to and he ended up telling her to go ahead and keep it.

"Yeah," she answers with a guilty smile. I shake my head and roll my eyes again.

"Alright, good luck, baby," I say, letting her go, "Though I don't think you'll need the luck."

She chuckles and pecks my lips before dashing off to find our crazy teacher. I sigh and look around for the creepy puppet master, knowing it won't be long before either Vega comes looking for me (because let's be honest, Sikowitz will probably give in within a matter of seconds) or rehearsal starts up again. A few minutes later I finally spot him at the other end of the theater, near the left side stage, playing with some sort of sound device. He doesn't have Rex with him, so I know this will be pretty easy.

"Shapiro!" I yell, quickly stomping off in his direction. A few people glance at me curiously as I pass, but I ignore their looks and keep walking.

"We need to talk. Now," I demand in a loud whisper. He smiles nervously and shifts uncomfortably. "Sure, what's up?" he asks in a slightly high pitched voice, obviously afraid and much less confident without his hand up the doll.

"It's about the bet," I say, "I'm out of it, it's over."

He nods and breathes a sigh of relief. "Oh, er, yeah sure, that's fine. Rex is probably going to want his money though."

I growl loudly and pull him up by his collar to get right in his face, but his eyes move to look behind me. He sputters a few incoherent words and points his finger, but I ignore his attempts to distract me. "No, I mean the bet is off _completely._ Vega and I are actually together and she's worth a hell of a lot more than two hundred dollars."

I hear a small whimper come from behind me and my eyes widen. I quickly let go of Robbie and turn around, my heart racing. Vega is standing two feet away and I realize _she_ is what he was gesturing at.

"What bet?" she asks in a thick voice and for the first time her eyes show no emotion whatsoever.

"T-Tori," I stutter, "It's not –I mean, it was nothing, I swear." She looks beyond me at Robbie and I know I'm done for now. "Robbie, _what bet_? Don't forget you owe me for giving three pints of blood for you," she reminds him, her voice more menacing than I've heard before.

"R-Rex and J-Jade, they made a b-bet to see if she c-could sleep with you in a w-week," he stutters out with difficulty. My breathing quickens and I feel my eyes begin to water.

"Tori, please, just let me explain –"

"No," she snaps, "We're done, Jade. God, I can't _believe_ how stupid I am!" she puts her hands in her hair and gives a hard pull, breathing hard as she tries not to cry. I step forward and slowly put my arms around her, the tears beggining to roll down my cheeks without permission.

"Baby, it's not what it sounds like, it may have started out like that but I actually fell for you. And Cat and Andre told me not to and I should have listened–"

"_What_?" she jerks away from my hold, desperately holding back tears of her own. My eyes widen as I realize my mistake. "A-Andre and Cat _knew_?" she asks, her chest rising and falling quickly and I think she might be having a panic attack.

"Just hear me out," I beg, but she furiously shakes her head at me and backs away further.

"Um, Tori, we're going to need to continue," Sikowitz says softly, coming to stand between us. She stares at me for a few seconds before nodding wordlessly.

She turns and goes up the steps to the stage to stand on her mark, followed by someone else playing another character in the play.

"Tori!" I sob, looking up at her with pleading eyes, but she ignores me and looks straight ahead.

"Get out," she demands, "You're liars and cowards, all of you."

I hang my head low and slowly make my way to the theater exit. I pause at the door and look behind me at the girl I can't believe I've just lost. She's acting out a scene and I can't help but note how strong she is, to be able to continue on right after finding out what she did is something I could never do.

"If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?" she says, surprisingly not missing a beat, her eyes once again emotionless. I can't help but fear I've broken her.

* * *

**A/N: thanks to everyone who's been reviewing, I love reading your guys' comments! Unfortunately I'm going on vacation and won't be able to update for about a week or two :( but I promise you, the story **_**will**_** get finished, so please stay with me. And I hope you're all enjoying it so far :)**


	7. Hilarious

The only thought continuously running through my mind on an endless loop is _what have I done_? I'm sitting at my kitchen island with an untouched cup of coffee in front of me. It's been exactly three hours and forty-seven minutes since I left the Black Box theatre. Three hours and forty-seven minutes since I lost Tori to my own stupidity. I sigh and put my head in my hands, wishing as hard as I can for the clocks to turn backwards and send me back to before I made that stupid bet. Before I hurt her so bad. That's all I want, is a second chance to undo everything.

"Jade, are you home ye—oh, there you are," my mom says cheerfully as she walks into the kitchen, obviously just getting home from work. I look up at her, not caring if she sees my red puffy eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asks, coming to stand next to me. I shake my head and sniffle, wiping at my eyes. "Did something happen between you and Tori?" My eyes shoot up at the mention of her name and I swallow hard.

"I messed up," I whisper. She sits down next to me and waits for me to continue, probably because she's terrible at comforting people. But I don't say anything else. I stand up and silently go to my room, thankful that my mom doesn't try to force me to talk about it.

I lie down in my bed and pull my cell from out of my pocket to see I have three missed calls all from Beck. I sigh and put my phone to my ear, wiping a few stray tears from my cheeks.

"Hello?" he answers on the second ring, "Jade? What the hell happened today?" he asks harshly. "You know?" I reply quietly.

"Yeah," he scoffs, "I went by her house just now to drop something off and she broke down, told me everything. I didn't think you were _that_ heartless, Jade."

"I know I fucked up, Beck, but I just want her back now," I admit, turning to lie on my side.

I hear him sigh loudly over the line. "It wasn't just you that hurt her though. It was you and Robbie and Andre and Cat. People she thought were her friends and one person she thought she –" He stops quickly, cutting himself off and I sit up, my eyebrows furrowed together.

"She thought she what?" There's nothing but silence from his end. "Beck, what did she say to you?"

"It's not my place, Jade," he finally answers, "I only called to tell you to please stay away from her."

"_What_?" I exclaim, "That's not really your place either."

"The hell it isn't!" he snaps, "I'm basically the only one she has left now and it's killing me to see her so messed up over all this."

I take a deep breath and try to calm myself, not wanting this argument to continue any farther. "Look, Beck, I love her and I'm not going anywhere," I say slowly to emphasize my point and then hang up before he has the chance to respond.

I sigh deeply and bring my hands up to cover my eyes. _I have to see her_. Beck said he had been over there just now; that meant she was at home. I practically fly off of the bed, down the stairs, and out the door to my car. I drive to her house quickly and hastily, slamming on the brakes as I pull into her driveway. The only other car there belongs to the older Vega and I thank God her parents aren't home. What a terrible way to meet the parents. _Oh, hello, Mr. and Mrs. Vega, it's so nice to meet you and I apologize for breaking your daughter's heart._ I roll my eyes at my own idiotic thoughts as I pull the keys out of the ignition and run up the porch to the front door.

"Tori, open up!" I shout, knocking more aggressively than necessary. About a minute later the door opens and Trina is standing there with a look of complete anger. "What do _you_ want?" she hisses. _She knows, of_ course_ she knows._

"I'm here to make things right with your sister," I breathe out.

"Yeah right," she scoffs, "Just go home, Jade, you're—"

"Trina, stop already," I hear Tori's soft voice before I see her. She comes up behind her sister, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders as she clutches the ends together in front of her chest. Her eyes are red and slightly puffy and I feel myself start to choke up. She grabs Trina by the shoulder and pulls her back further into the house and then moves to stand in her place.

"What are you doing here, Jade?" she mumbles, averting her eyes so they're cast downwards.

"Can we talk?" I ask, before glancing to a lingering Trina, "_Alone_?"

She sighs before turning to give Trina a look that says 'get out.' She stomps back up to her room after giving me one final glare, leaving Tori and I awkwardly standing in the doorway. "Um, I guess you should come inside," she says flatly, standing aside to let me enter. We each sit down on the bright orange couch and for some odd reason my mind decides to momentarily flash back to our first kiss, when we had sat in these same spots before walking to the park where our lips met for the first time. _Quit being so fucking cheesy and get back to fixing this_, I think with a small shake of the head.

"Again, what are you doing here?" Tori whispers, clutching the blanket tighter around her small frame. I swallow hard before murmuring, "I'm sorry." It's the only thing I can think of to say at the moment.

"That's it?" she laughs without humor, "Oh, well then I guess it's all okay now," she throws her head back in laughter again and this time I smell the alcohol coming from her breath.

"Are you _drunk_?" I ask, my eyebrows knitting together in disbelief. She shakes her head, but continues to stare straight ahead.

"No_p_e," she answers, popping the p, "I had barely got around to finishing my _second_ drink when you showed up, which brings me back to the question you keep trying to avoid."

I take a deep breath to steady myself as I feel the anger rise at the thought of her drinking alone and at the thought that _I'm _the reason for it. "I wasn't using you, Tori, not anymore. I'll admit, in the beginning I asked you out because of that _stupid_ wager, but it became real for me. It _is_ still real for me, Tori."

She blinks a few times, allowing my last words to linger a few moments. She still refuses to look at me and without her eyes I have no way to tell what she's feeling. _She probably can't even stomach looking at you right now_.

"I don't know what to do, Jade," she mumbles, "I still want you, but I can't trust you." Just as I'm about to respond she starts to giggle uncontrollably and I'm beginning to think she lied about how many drinks she had. "It's so funny," she giggles again, "because I thought that you'd be the first _honest_ relationship I'd ever have. And I was really looking forward to it." Her eyes finally look to me and just like earlier, they're completely empty and drained.

"Tori," I breathe out in a whisper, "I am _so_ sorry. But you have to know, I'm not going anywhere. This, _us_, we are _not _over and I am going to prove to you that it's not a game," I say with conviction, scooting closer so the side of my body is pressed against hers.

She chuckles and looks down, shaking her head softly. "Whatever you say, West." She pats my knee and stands up, dropping the blanket to the ground. She ignores it and heads towards the stairs, leaving me to sit there in confusion. _West? Since when does she call me West?_ I watch her backside as she slowly makes her way up to her room and decide to make a risky decision.

"Vega, I _love_ you," I say loudly, standing up. She pauses momentarily, her hand that's on the railing giving a small twitch. She turns around fully and gives a small smile. "I'm going to bed," she says with a simple shrug.

And with that I'm left standing there feeling numb and stupid and a mix of other emotions I don't know the name of. I drag my feet out of her house and practically collapse when I finally make it home. _I'm not going to cry_, I tell myself, _Jade West doesn't cry._ I take a deep breath as I fall to my knees on my bedroom floor.

_I'm Jade West; I don't need people, _they_ need me, _I chant over and over again in my head. But I know it's a lie and I know what I need. I know _who_ I need.

* * *

**A/N: sorry it's taken so long to update, I just got back yesterday and I barely wrote this today. I'm actually not happy with it and I apologize if it's full of typos and mistakes, I didn't really proofread it since I wanted to update as soon as possible :( I'm also sorry it's super short but hope you like it anyways!**


	8. Saviour

"Has she spoken to you at all?" Cat asks in a small scared voice, making me feel worse than I already do. I know she should never have been dragged into all this, but honestly all I can think about right now is Vega and myself.

"Yeah, Cat," I sigh, "I went over there yesterday after it all happened and we talked sort of." I close my locker door and turn to give her an apologetic smile. Its passing period, but I'm in no hurry to get to Sikowitz's class. Neither I nor Cat had seen Vega in the morning and Andre had only stopped to chat for a minute before running off to find Beck. I know what he's thinking, that Beck will talk to Vega and smooth things over for him and everything will go back to normal for him. _Yeah, let me know how that goes_, I think with a silent scoff as I take a sip of my coffee.

We walk into the classroom and take our normal seats in the back of the room. A few people give me strange looks and I'm sure now that most people know about what happened yesterday. Beck, who's already seated in front of us, turns around to give Cat a small smile before looking towards the front board again and ignoring me all together. I roll my eyes and take another sip of coffee. Andre and Robbie come in next and take seats in the front. Finally, a few seconds before the bell rings Vega saunters through the door and swiftly sits in an empty seat on the far left of the room without so much as sparing a glance at any of us, not even Beck.

I feel Cat tug on my sleeve, but I don't pay her any mind. My eyes stay locked on the doe eyed girl and I'm trying my hardest to not get up, stomp over to where she's seated, and claim her in front of the entire class. I take a deep breath and tear my eyes away from her, moving them to stare down at my empty lap. I feel another tug, harder this time, and roll my eyes as I look at Cat. Her eyes are slightly wide as she passes me a note that has her chicken scratch handwriting all over it.

'_Should I say something to her?'_ it reads. I sigh quietly and shrug, crumpling the paper in my hand and returning it back to her. I know I should help her out more, especially seeing as how Cat really had _no_ idea of what she was doing, but I figure she'll be the easiest for Tori to forgive. Not going to lie, I do envy her cluelessness sometimes. _Ignorance is certainly bliss_, I think as I watch from the corner of my eye as she takes out a fresh paper and starts scribbling again before handing it over. '_Do you think she'll forgive me?'_ it says this time. I look her in the eye and give a tiny smile.

"Yeah," I whisper softly. I know she has the best chance of all of us to get Vega's forgiveness. All she'll have to do is tilt her head and flash her stupidity. I wish it were going to be that easy for me.

* * *

The rest of class passes by slowly and torturously, complete with a few acting exercises and one of Sikowitz's odd speeches that no one really understands. I'm surprised when he doesn't call on Tori to go up for anything but then soon remember that he was there yesterday and he must know she's hurting now. I'm soon snapped out of my thoughts by the ring of the bell and look over to see Tori swiftly picking her bag off the ground and silently head to the door, awkwardly shuffling to pass through the other kids. I follow her out to the hallway and just as I'm about to call out to her, Cat rushes past me practically yelling her name.

"Tori, wait up!" I hear her shout and slap my hand to my forehead. I didn't think she'd talk to Vega _this_ soon. _Screw it_, I think and decide to just head out to the quad. Andre is already seated at our usual table alone and I hesitantly make my way over and sit down across from him. He plays with the food on his plate and mutters a barely audible, "Hey."

"Hey," I mumble back, "Have you talked with Vega at all?"

He lifts his head to look at me and stops messing with his plate. "No, she won't even look at me," he shrugs. I raise an eyebrow when I realize that's all he has to say about it.

"So that's it? You're not even going to try?" I scoff. He looks down again and rubs the back of his neck for a few seconds. "Well," he starts, "I wouldn't want to talk to me either; I get where she's coming from."

"Oh, _please_," I snap, "Quit the self-pity act," I roll my eyes in annoyance. He glares at me and I know it's time to change the subject.

"Where's Shapiro?" I ask, my eyes quickly scanning the quad for any sign of him, Vega, or Cat.

"He was here for a few minutes, but he ran off because he was afraid of seeing you," he says with a hint of amusement in his voice. Had it been under any other circumstances I would have found this highly amusing as well. We fall into silence after that, neither one of us having anything else to say. My eyes continue to seek out either the redhead or the brunette, but come up short each time. All I want is to know what words were exchanged and the anticipation is killing me, but I know there's nothing else I can do now except wait.

* * *

The end of the school day can't come quick enough for me. Cat refused to tell me what was said between her and Vega, claiming she'd promised to keep it a secret. She then skipped off, humming some Disney song and leaving me to slam my head against a locker. Robbie basically pissed himself and ran whenever he saw me. Vega, on the other hand, was present and would allow none of us near except for Beck and, of course, Trina. During passing periods Beck and her stood by each other's lockers talking and smiling, but her smile isn't genuine. I've seen genuine, I've been the _cause_ of genuine and what she was wearing today was a complete mask. A mask that, once again, I am the cause of.

I slowly put my books away in my locker and trudge out to the school to the parking lot, in no real hurry to get home. There are still some kids lingering around, but for the most part people have bolted home already, all in a hurry to get back to their home lives. I'm halfway to my car when I hear a low shriek come from somewhere behind me. I turn and look around in confusion, trying to find the source of the noise. My eyes widen as I see Tori being pressed up against Trina's car by that scumbag Ryder Daniels. One of his hands is gripping her forearm and he's obviously speaking, but her head is turned to the side, an angry scowl written all over her face but obvious fear in her eyes.

I drop my bag and start to quickly walk over to them before breaking into a run as she shrieks once more. I come up from behind, my hand automatically going to grip Ryder's shoulder, ready to tear him off of her.

"Let her go _now_," I growl, my hold tightening in warning. He chuckles and turns around to face me, his hands going up in mock surrender.

"Hey, we were just talking," he says with a sly grin. I shove him aside and grab Tori's hand to pull her to me.

"Are you okay?" I ask, ignoring the fact that he's still standing there like an idiot. Tori glances at each of us before whispering, "Just go, okay, Jade? I'm fine." She rubs her arm where he was previously gripping her, the area now an angry shade of red.

"Yeah, let us get back to _talking_," Ryder says, beginning to step between us. I roughly shove against his chest before he has the chance and push Tori behind me, not wanting her to get caught in my line of fire.

"Stay the _hell_ away from her, you hear me?" I say menacingly through gritted teeth, "Or I swear to God I won't hesitate to cut up your face with my scissors!" I feel a gentle hand rest on my shoulder and from the way my body immediately relaxes under the touch, I know it belongs to Tori. I turn my head slightly to look at her and see she has a torn look on her face.

"Please just go," she pleads again.

I smirk just a tiny bit at this. "Fine," I nod, "I'll go, but you're going with me." I turn to grab her hand, lacing our fingers together as I drag her to my car. I look back at Ryder and it's obvious he's not happy about this, but he slowly walks away, eyeing us the whole time. We reach my car and Tori pulls her hand away from mine. I hit the unlock button on my keys and open the driver's door when I realize she isn't heading to the passenger's side.

"Let me take you home, Tori," I murmur softly, leaning against the open door, "And you can tell me what happened."

"No, I can go wait for Trina again," she says with her head down, "He's gone so it'll be okay now." I sigh and take a step towards her. My hands reach down to gently take hold of her wrists and pull her to me. When she's only a few inches away from me, I remove my fingers and instead wrap my arms around her back and hug her tightly, our bodies molding together perfectly.

She slowly and shakily hugs me back, seemingly unsure if the response she's giving is the right one or if she should pull away instead.

"I won't let anyone touch you," I whisper into her auburn hair. Her hold on me tightens and I nuzzle my face into her neck, reveling in the feeling of being in her arms again. We stay like this for a few moments before she pulls away and silently walks around the car to get in the passenger's seat. I get in too and start up the car, trying not to smile at the fact that this is _progress_ (even if we are only progressing because of some creep). I start up the engine and drive away from the school, waiting a few moments before deciding to ask.

"So," I clear my throat, "what did happen back there?"

She shrugs and stares out the window. "I was waiting for Trina when he came up and said he wanted me to help with another project and when I said no he got mad," she says flatly, absentmindedly rubbing her arm. My grip on the steering wheel tightens and my jaw clenches.

"I don't want you waiting out there alone anymore," I say firmly, "Things could have gone so much worse." She turns in her seat to look at me and out of the corner of my eye I see the roll of her eyes.

"And what do you expect me to do, get a bodyguard?" she says sarcastically.

"I'll take you home."

"Jade," she sighs, "We're not togeth—"

"I don't care," I shake my head, "I still want you safe and like I said before, I'm not going anywhere."

I hear her sigh deeply once more and we fall into silence. I pull into her driveway and we awkwardly sit there for a moment, Tori making no move to get out just yet.

"Thanks for saving me," she whispers, leaning towards me. She leans in just a little more and just as I begin to think she's about to kiss me, she quickly turns and throws the car door open, climbing out without another word. I couldn't hide the disappointment even if I had someone to hide it _from_.

* * *

**A/N: thanks for the comments guys, I really do love reading them! And yeah this chapter is kind of all over the place but I think that's mostly cuz it's two a.m. and I'm just finishing up and I can feel myself beginning to lose coherency. So yeah next time **_**hopefully**_** won't be as messy.**


	9. Scripts We Call Conversation

_**Three Days Later…**_

I groan and rub my eyes with the back of my hands before turning to reach over and snatch my phone from the nightstand. I hit the 'okay' button to open the new text message. '_I don't need a ride today.'_ it simply states. I sigh quietly and toss my phone aside. The past few days I've been driving Tori home, as I said I would, much to her dismay. The rides are mostly quiet on her end while I try to coax any sort of speech out of her. Tonight is the opening night of the play she's in, so I assume that's what's going to be keeping her after school.

Cat and she seem to be on better terms. They haven't exactly said many words to each other (at least not that I've seen), but they exchange smiles along with small greetings here and there. Mostly she hangs around with Beck during all free time during school and the jealousy is quickly rising in me. Andre continues to communicate with Vega through Beck but according to him, she's brushing off all of his attempts. As for Robbie, well he and Rex _began to _approach her when she turned and sped off in the other direction and he hasn't tried since. They're both being stupid if you ask me. It seems Cat and I are the only ones getting anywhere and I am one hundred percent okay with that.

After lying there alone with my thoughts for a few more moments I finally get up and start to get dressed. I contemplate staying home, but decide against it since I'll be going to the play and I wouldn't want Sikowitz asking why I wasn't in his class today. I smirk at the thought of me surprising Vega by showing up tonight and her being so ecstatic she kisses me right on the lips; the whole encounter planned out perfectly in my mind like a movie. _Yeah right_, I think as my smirk falls, _keep dreaming, West. _

…

I walk into school and go over to my locker with my trademark cup of coffee in hand. As I'm going down the hall I spot Beck standing at his open locker, shuffling through his stuff and paying no mind to anyone else. I start to slow as I have a flashback moment to when we spoke on the phone a few days ago. _"People she thought were her friends and one person she thought she –" _He had stopped short, but he still knows something I don't. With this though in mind I suddenly find myself heading in his direction, my free hand clenching at my side as I anticipate his resistance that's sure to come.

"Oliver," I say flatly as I approach. He doesn't turn to look at me and instead continues to search through his locker, but I hear the sigh that passes his lips.

"What do you want, Jade?" he asks in annoyance.

"The other day, on the phone, you started to mention something about Tori, but never finished and I want to know what it was."

He sighs again, deeper this time. "I already told you, it's not my place to tell." Resistance, as I knew would happen.

"Look, I need something, _anything_ that could help me get her back so if you know –"

"I _don't_," he snaps, slamming his locker shut, "have anything for you." He leans towards me, his last four words slow and deliberate. My eyes narrow at him and I'm sure he's lying, but I'm also sure there's no way I'm getting it out of him. I glare at him for a few seconds before stomping away like a child throwing a tantrum after their parents deny them a new toy. _Ugh, I hate kids,_ I think with a roll of my eyes as I enter the combination on my locker. I peek back over to Beck and see that Vega is now there, standing next to him and speaking with a small smile on her face while he wears a large grin. _Of course he's grinning, he did try to kiss the girl and now that I'm out of the way he's got another shot, _I think angrily. The last thing I need right now is competition, because with my track record so far I'm almost certain she'll make the smart choice, the _right_ choice, and go with the other person.

I take another sip of my coffee that's starting to get cool, all the while wondering why the hell I had to go and make that stupid wager with that stupid puppet and even stupider puppeteer.

…

"Mom, I'm heading out now," I call as I pass the open door to my mother's home office. I only just got home about an hour and half (maybe two hours?) ago, but I want to get to the Black Box Theater early.

"Wait, where are you going?" she asks, coming out of her office just as I'm reaching the stairs. I come to a halt and turn to face her.

"To see Tori," I say, my eyes drifting downwards for a second. Her eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

"Oh, did you two work things out again?"

"Uhm, no, we haven't," I mumble, "but I'm working on it, like kind of at this very moment so I gotta go." I swiftly turn and quickly go down the stairs and out the door before she can manage to get in any other questions or offer any opinions.

The drive isn't very long and when I get there, there's only fifteen minutes until the show begins. People are already arriving, but it isn't too packed yet. I park in front of the school and rush inside to the theater. I'd already bought my tickets pre-sale (about twelve to be exact, one for each showing) and sneakily make my way backstage once I'm inside. I push past kids and thankfully go unseen by Sikowitz as I duck and cover to the Black Box dressing room that's hidden behind the curtain off the side on stage that's reserved for cast members only. I take a deep breath and hesitantly knock twice before pushing the door open, too impatient to wait for a response.

I stick my head in and see Vega sitting on a chair in front of a mirror and make-up table. She's in the blue and white Alice dress that she gets to keep after, white leggings, and a blonde wig that's curled in the back with bangs in the front. I walk in completely, shutting the door quietly behind me as our eyes meet in the mirror.

"Jade," she breathes out, "What are you doing here?" she questions as she gets up from her chair and moves to stand about a foot away in front of me with her arms crossed over her chest.

I look her over once more, my eyes scanning her whole body. "You look gorgeous," I say truthfully, "I can see why you wanted to keep the costume," I chuckle. Tori blushes and looks down, crossing her arms slightly tighter together.

"Thanks," she mumbles, "but you shouldn't be here."

"And just why shouldn't I?" I challenge, taking a step towards her. Her mouth gapes as she tries to think of a reasonable explanation.

"I don't know," she shrugs, "You just shouldn't be."

"So how have you been?" she asks suddenly in an obvious attempt to change the subject, but the words sound so rehearsed and fake. I can't help the chuckle that comes out as I answer, "I've been giving you rides home, Vega. You've seen me, you know how I am." Her chocolate orbs finally decide to make an appearance as she looks me in the eye for a split second before hiding away again.

"I know, I just –I don't know, it seemed like something people say a lot when they don't know what else to say and I really didn't have an answer for your quest—"

"Breathe, Vega," I laugh, effectively cutting her off. She blushes again, her face turning redder than before.

"Sorry," she mutters quietly, shifting her weight from one leg to the other. I glance down at her arm to where the marks Ryder left behind were a few days ago. I swallow hard and slowly lean in to place my lips on her cheek to leave a slow, soft kiss. "I miss you," I whisper against her soft skin. I hear her breathing hitch and one hand comes up to cup my face. I pull back slightly to look at her and take her hips in my hands to roughly bring her closer to me, not allowing her to back away. Our eyes meet again and I see something I can't name shining in hers.

"Please come home to me," I whisper, leaning in further so our noses brush against each other.

"I've told you before that I want to, but…" she trails off, breaking eye contact.

"Tori, look at me," I demand. It takes a moment for her to comply, but when she does I continue. "Remember the night we spent together? What did I tell you to do?"

She looks at me in confusion, unsure of where I'm going with this. "Um, you told me to go to sleep?" I nod and lean my forehead against hers.

"If I was going to use you for sex, wouldn't I have done it when I had you in my bed?"

Her bottom lips goes in between her teeth as she thinks about this a few seconds before admitting defeat and nodding. I brush my lips against hers, just barely, to test the waters. I'm about to really kiss her when there's suddenly a pounding on the door. We both jump apart in surprise as we hear Sikowitz's annoying voice call, "Tori, you're on in five!" through the door. _Stupid coconut freak!_ I seethe in anger and especially annoyance. _So fucking close._

We stand there in awkward silence before she regains full awareness of the situation. "I better go," she mumbles, walking past me, "Enjoy the show tonight."

"I think you mean 'tonight and _every_ night'," I correct as her hand latches onto the doorknob. She looks at me in confusion once again and I step forward and place a finger under her chin.

"I kind of bought tickets for every show," I admit with a sheepish grin. "I told you I'd be here for you always, whether you like it or not," I add when she starts to protest. "Now get out there, your spotlight is waiting."

She leaves without another word and I follow her out silently. I sneak back out from backstage and sit dead front and center, smirking to myself as Vega's eyes widen slightly as the play starts and she see me sitting there. Not gonna lie, I love that I have that effect on her, even if we aren't a couple.

The entire play is perfect, especially because throughout most of it the emotion you can clearly see on Vega is confusion. I know the truth though; the confusion isn't acting, but the audience doesn't know that and so it's seen as great acting. But to me, she has become like a real life Alice in Wonderland. _Don't worry Tori, _I think, smiling softly as the audience claps and cheers for my girl, _I'll pull you out of the rabbit hole._


	10. NotSoClueless Cat Valentine

I lift my feet up and rest them on the fancy coffee table in front of me. If mom were home she'd throw a fit about this, but screw it. I lean my head back against the sofa cushion and sigh as I flip through the channels on the television. I never really noticed before how _boring _things are without Vega. I mean, even _before_ we were together the six of us would all gather at her place and hang out. And now I'm not sure _what_ to do. It's almost seven o'clock and I've done nothing but sit around all freakin day. I contemplate calling her and trying my luck, but after showing up at the play last night (and mentioning that I'll be going every night) I don't want to push it.

With another groan I toss the remote to the side after finding that there's nothing on. _How can there be all these channels and not a damn thing on any one of them?_ I think in a frustrated manner. I slip my phone out of my pocket when I feel it vibrate. '_Hi! Hi! What are you up to tonight? :D' _I roll my eyes at Cat's text and respond with a simple '_Nothing.'_ I only have to wait a few seconds for the redhead's reply. '_Great! That's great! Let's go to the movies! Seven-thirty, you better be ready!'_ I stare at the message in confusion, wondering why the hell she seems so adamant about me going. '_Fine, whatever.'_ I respond, though I'm secretly thankful to be getting out of this house, even if I am going with a hyper ninety pound kid.

Turning off the television and standing from the couch, I make my way upstairs to change into something somewhat decent. It's not like I have anyone to impress tonight since I'm not going with Vega. _Okay, Jade, can you try and keep your thoughts off of her for _one _night at least?_ I mentally scold myself. It only takes ten minutes to get ready and about fifteen minutes of waiting before I hear a loud continuous knocking at the front door. I open it quickly in fear she'll break down the door.

"_Cat!"_ I hiss, "What is _wrong_ with you?" She only smiles and giggles in the airheaded way only she can manage.

"Oh, I'm just real excited for tonight, that's why we need to get there like _right now_," she demands, grabbing my arm and yanking me out of my house. She doesn't let go until we're at her car and I'm now officially afraid she's lost it completely.

"Why are you so excited?" I ask in confusion as I buckle up my seatbelt and she starts the car engine.

"Um, no reason," she shrugs and then goes on to tell about a time her brother was once really excited about an idea he had and then a light bulb went off in his pants. I don't have the heart to tell her what it really was. _Let her keep her blissful ignorance just a little bit longer._

…

Cat parks the car in the theater parking lot and practically jumps out. I follow suit, taking my time behind her. She turns and gives me a look of concern before rolling her eyes and snatching my wrist. "_Caaaat_," I groan as she literally drags me inside, "_What_ is such the big deal about tonight?"

"I told you there's no reason," she mumbles as we go inside and get in line. She looks around as if searching for someone. I shake my head and keep my eyes forward, ignoring her antics. I'm thoroughly convinced she's gone off the deep end.

"Oh," she squeaks suddenly, "Hey guys, what are you doing here?" I hear her ask. I turn in confusion, my eyes widening as they land on none other than Vega and Beck. I notice Vega's eyes widen slightly as well as Beck, on the other hand, looks a tad bit angry.

"H-hey, um, To-Tori," I stutter out, ignoring Beck. Out of the corner of my eye I notice a sly smile on Cat's face but it's only there for a second before it disappears and turns back into a wide goofy grin.

"Hi, Jade, didn't expect to see you here," she says airily, looking down and shuffling her feet. I barely register Beck mumble a short greeting as well, but pay no mind to it. _Are they on a date?_ I suddenly wonder, my brows furrowing slightly in anger.

"Are we interrupting your date or something?" I ask, trying to sound nonchalant, but you can hear the accusation behind it. She shakes her head furiously, glancing at Beck for a split second before looking back to me.

"No, we were just hanging out since neither of us had anything to do," she clarifies and I nod, taking in a deep breath at the same time.

"Really? Us too!" Cat chimes in excitedly, "What movie are you guys seeing?"

"The new zombie one," Beck obviously fake smiles, addressing Cat directly, "You probably wouldn't like –"

"Oh wow, that's what we're going to watch too!" Cat claps her hands and jumps up and down as I throw her a surprised slash confused look.

"Um, well I guess we could all watch it together," Vega says with a shrug as we move up in the line, Cat and I being next.

"I'd love that," I say before I can stop myself. We all agree, Beck being most reluctant and Cat being most enthusiastic. The four of us buy our tickets and some candy then start for the theater. Just before entering, I slow down and grab Cat's arm to yank her back and let Beck and Vega go in first.

"Okay, you have five seconds to tell me what the _hell_ is going on," I hiss at her, my eyes flashing towards the open theater doors a second to make sure they aren't standing there.

"Well, I heard that Beck and Tori were coming here tonight and Beck said he was thinking about making another move on her, but I know she belongs with you so I had to get you down here," she says quickly, not stopping for a breath until she's done. _Maybe you aren't so clueless after all._

"You could have just _told_ me that," I roll my eyes and huff but can't deny the gratitude. "But thanks for helping," I mutter, my anger starting to rise at the thought of anyone besides me putting their mouth anywhere on Vega.

"You guys coming?" I hear and both Cat and I turn to see Tori standing there with a hopeful smile that's directed my way.

"Of course," I answer, returning the smile and walking inside, with Cat on my heel.

We find seats in the back, the order from left to right going Cat, Beck, Tori, and me on the end. I wanted to sit between Beck and Tori, but he wouldn't allow it, practically flying into the seat before I have the chance. But knowing Cat is on my side gives me comfort because that means she'll help keep him off of her. Vega and I both lay our arms on the arm rest as the movie starts and I slowly let my hand move in a ghost like manner until it's covering hers. I see her eyes widen slightly and if I know Tori like I think I do, her cheeks must be flushed. With an audible sigh, she hesitantly turns her hand so her palm is facing up and laces our fingers together. My stomach flutters with butterflies at the contact and the only thing I can think is _thank you, Cat Valentine._

…

We're halfway through the movie and some of the people in the theater have left, the gore proving to be too much for them to handle. Tori has half of her face in my shoulder, covering one eye and watching with the other as her hand squeezes mine. _This must have been Beck's plan,_ I think with a smirk. I look over to see Cat clinging to his arm for dear life and he slouches in annoyance. The people in the movie make it to a safe place clear of hungry zombies and Vega straightens up in her seat, obviously relieved that she doesn't have to see more blood for now. It's at this time that Beck perks up as well, his eyes focused solely on the gorgeous girl next to me while she continues to obliviously keeps her eyes on the screen. I blatantly watch as his arm subtly starts to rise, as well as the anger in me.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Cat grips his arm and pulls her to him, forcing his arm away from Tori as she whispers something in his ear. The annoyed look returns as he sits up and nods, his arms to going to the armrests at his sides to push himself off the chair. Cat stands up with him and lets Beck walk ahead down the aisle. She turns and throws me a smirk and a wink that I almost miss in the dark. I smile to myself and repress the chuckle that threatens to escape my lips. I glance at Tori, who's watching in confusion as the two leave, and suddenly feel the courage spur in me.

Wrapping my arms tightly around her shoulders, I pull her close and press my lips to her temple. I feel her stiffen and can practically feel the inner battle that's happening inside of her. After a moment, she finally relaxes in my arms and rests her head on my shoulder. I grab her chin and pull her face up to look her in the eyes. There are so many things swimming in those brown orbs at the moment and for a moment I can only hope they're good thoughts, but as she starts to lean closer, I _know_ they are.

There's only one thought going through my mind: _Thank you, Cat._

…

**A/N: I'm sorry it's so short and bad, I've got a lot going on right now :(**


	11. Here We Go Again

**A/N: sorry for the wait, but I felt like my last few chapters haven't been that great so I wanted to spend more time on this one to make it enjoyable :) also this chapter does get somewhat fluffy and cheesy so for those of you who've missed Jori time, you get a little here.**

…

_I can't believe this is about to happen, _I think in anticipation, my heart beating against my chest like a drum. I lean in more to close the distance between us and press my lips to hers softly and tenderly, smiling into it as I reach up to place a hand on her cheek. It may not be the most romantic setting in the world considering we can still hear the sound of people being eaten in the background, but I'll take what I can get. She kisses back for a few seconds before abruptly pulling away and staring at me with brown eyes wide and alert, shining with regret.

"I-I," she whispers, her mouth opening and closing as tears spring forth. I feel my heart break and reach out to comfort her, but she quickly stands and runs down the aisle and out of the theater.

"Shit," I mumble to myself, getting up from my seat and running after her. I roughly push the doors open and look around frantically before seeing her sitting on a small bench next to the theater across from ours. I sigh in relief and slowly make my way over to sit down next to her. She has her head buried in her hands, but she's so still I can't be sure whether she's crying or not.

"Tori," I whisper, hesitantly resting a hand on her lower back, "I'm sorry."

She finally looks up at me and her eyes are watery, but she isn't crying. "No," she shakes her head, "_I'm_ sorry; I shouldn't have ran, I just…I don't know."

"Talk to me, please," I murmur, rubbing her back gently and hopefully soothingly. She shrugs again and sighs, leaning forward to rest her elbow on her knee and her chin in her hand. "It's just that…when we kissed just now, all I could think about was how it might not be real for you. There's a chance you could still be playing me," she mutters, looking down and shaking her leg, another nervous habit I've seen her do before. I feel my heart break a little more at her confession and wrap one arm around her waist and the other under her legs to lift her into my lap. She easily lets me and nuzzles her face into my neck.

"Look, why don't you come over for dinner tomorrow night and we can finally talk about the whole thing," I suggest, hugging her close to me. She pulls her face out of my neck and looks at me in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" she asks, her eyebrows coming together cutely, "We did talk about it, remember?"

I chuckle softly and shake my head at her. "Vega, that _hardly _counts. You were intoxicated, _remember_?" I tease, trying to get us back to that easy playful place we once were not too long ago. She smiles guiltily and gives a nervous sounding laugh as she runs her hand through her hair.

"I wasn't _that_ drunk," she mumbles, making me full on laugh.

"I know you weren't, sweetie," I say, leaning forward to kiss her cheek. As soon as my lips make contact, I feel her stiffen against me and I pull back immediately.

"I'm sorry, I know I'm really pushing it tonight and I shouldn't," I rush out, not wanting to back track on our progress any more than we already have. She just shakes her head and moves off my lap to sit next to me instead. She licks her lips and takes a deep breath, all the while staring at the ground in front of her.

"Um, I'll come over tomorrow and maybe we can get this all sorted out," she says quickly. I nod and we fall into silence, but I honestly can't tell whether it's uncomfortable or not; it's just…_silent._ After a few moments I can't really take it anymore so I decide to ask, "Has Ryder gave you any more trouble?"

She shakes her head and looks up at me with a small smile. "No, I think you scared him away for good."

"Good," I smirk, happy knowing that even though Vega has turned me into somewhat of a softy, I still got it. Her smile widens and she shakes her head at me.

"Can I ask _you_ something now?" she asks suddenly, pulling me from my thoughts. My smirk falls a little as I wonder what she what wants to know.

"Sure, go ahead," I breathe out and she smirks just a tiny bit with her eyebrow raised slightly.

"What was with the whole showing up with Cat thing tonight?"

I feel my face heat up as I bite the inside of my cheek to hold off the grin that's threatening to break through. "Oh, I actually had no idea you would be here. It was all Cat's idea to basically set us up."

She smiles at this, but doesn't respond and instead goes into deep thought about something. We sit like this for a minute before Vega finally comes back to reality and turns to face me. "Well, we better go find Beck and Cat," she says, standing up. I nod and stand up too, walking beside her to the theater lobby. As we walk my hand brushes hers softly and after a moment of contemplating, I take her hand in mine and lace our fingers together tightly so she doesn't pull away. Out of the corner of my eye I see her glance down at our hands and give a small unsure smile. Just as I'm about to say something I hear "There you guys are!" I roll my eyes and sigh at the sight of Beck quickly heading our way, with Cat following behind him. She frowns as she mouths 'sorry' before her eyes travel downwards and she takes notice of our interlocked hands, the frown turning to a large grin. I smirk to myself and turn to face Beck who looks like he's fuming.

"Hey, what happened to you guys?" Vega asks, attempting to take her hand back, but I don't allow it. When she realizes that I won't let go, she lets her hand relax in mine once again and my smirk turns to a cocky smile.

"I got scared of the movie so I made Beck leave with me," Cat lies expertly, coming out from behind Beck to stand beside him instead.

"Yeah, so, we better get going," Beck buds in, "Come on Tori," he gestures for her to follow and I see her nod before glancing at me.

"Um, I'll meet you at your car, Beck, I'm just going to say bye to them," Vega says quickly. He gives a short nod and furrows his eyebrows together, but leaves anyways.

Cat looks between us smirking and says, "Well, see you at school Monday, Tori. Jade, I'll meet you at the car," she winks at me as she slowly backs away before turning around and practically skipping out of the theater.

_Alone again_, I think as I slip my hand out of Vega's and move them to grip her waist and pull her against me. She blushes and looks down, her arms staying at her sides. "So I guess I'll see you tomorrow," she mumbles, refusing to look me in the eyes.

"Hey," I put a finger under her chin to lift her face, "We'll be okay," I promise, knowing she most likely needs the reassurance right now. She nods and silently slips out of my grasp. "Bye," she whispers, walking away and leaving me in a daze. I stand there and watch through the glass windows and doors as she exits the lobby and steps into what must be Beck's car that's waiting just out front. I sigh to myself and slowly make my way out to the theater parking lot to find Cat sitting in her car wearing a large successful grin.

I open the door to the passenger's side and get in wordlessly, but as I fasten my seatbelt I can feel the giddiness that's practically radiating off the redheaded girl next to me.

"Soooo…," she starts excitedly, "What happened? Did you guys get back together again? Did she forgive you? Can I have some bibble?" Cat rushes out all in one breath.

I lean my head against the window and bite my lip. "To answer all your questions: I kissed her and she ran, no, I'm not sure, and _hell_ no. But we are having dinner at my place tomorrow so…thanks for helping make it happen," I mumble the last part quickly and nonchalantly. Her grin widens, if that's even possible, and she claps her hands together. "For my reward can I have bibble?"

"_No."_

…

I groan to myself as I see what a limited food supply we have in the fridge. This is honestly the most I've been home and my mother's never been one to stock up on food, it's always been take-out or restaurants with her. I close the fridge door and move on to search the cabinets.

"Aha!" I say to myself in a very Vega-like manner as I find the ingredients for lasagna in the top cabinet.

It's around seven forty-five right now and Vega will be here around eight and I've so much of the day cleaning and making the dinner table perfect, that I forgot the food. I get out everything I'll need to prepare the food, but then a thought occurs to me: I don't know how to make it. I'm just about to call for my mother to come down and help when I remember that she's out for the night on account of me asking for her to give Vega and I alone time. "Shit," I mutter as I pull out my phone from my pocket and hit the internet button. Looks like I'll be learning to make it now.

…

I scramble out of the kitchen when I hear the doorbell ring and wipe the small amount of sweat from my forehead as I open the door and see a smiling Vega standing on my front porch.

"Hey," I smile, slightly panting from the running and from trying to hurry up my cooking. "Come on in," I breathe out, holding the door open wider.

"Hi," she says softly as she steps inside, "Are you okay? You seem out of breath or something."

I smile guiltily at her and close the door behind, fidgeting with my hands a bit. "Um, well I may have spent too much cleaning and setting up and the actual dinner is running behind," I admit, "I'm so sorry, I've been trying to rush it, I swear."

Her smile widens as she gives a genuine laugh and a wave of the hand. "Jade, it's fine, I really don't mind. And plus I love cooking so I'll help you," she offers, following me to the kitchen.

"You know how to cook?" I ask incredulously, an eyebrow raised as I lead her to stand at the countertop that's covered with various spices along with ground beef, noodles, and shredded cheese. She looks over the ingredients with a small smirk formed on her lips. "Let me guess, you're making lasagna; should be easy enough."

I nod once and bite my lip. "I'm impressed, Vega. Alright then, let's get started. Since you're the expert, tell me what to do next," I smirk and tilt my head to the side. She chuckles and shakes her head slightly, turning to the counter to inspect the work I've already done so far.

"Well…looks to me like you've already cooked the ground beef so next would be the layering," she beams proudly as she pulls the pan from the center of the island to place it in front of her and grabs the bowl of noodles as well.

"Ah, so she _does_ know what she's doing," I tease and a second later I feel a few wet noodles hit my cheek. I gasp in mock surprise and slowly turn to her, repressing a laugh. "Did you just throw food at me?" I ask and watch as she shrugs and desperately tries to hold back a grin of her own, failing miserably.

"Maybe next time you won't underestimate _her_," she teases back, avoiding the question. I chuckle softly and shake my head, reaching over for the sauce. "Nope," I state firmly, "Not going to stoop to your childish level, Vega." I turn my attention to open the can of red sauce when three more noodles hit my face with more force this time. I allow myself to laugh this time and turn to her, nodding my head. "Okay then," I say as I reach my hand into the sauce and grab what I can in my hand, quickly pulling it out and flinging the gooiness at Vega.

She screams and uses her arms to shield herself, the bottom half of her purple shirt now splattered in the red pasta sauce. Laughing, she lunges forward to try and snatch the container away from me, but I hold onto it tightly, not letting her take it. We both stick our hands in, grabbing what we can and flinging it at each other, laughing loudly and squealing as one gets sauce right on the other's face. Vega finally lets go of the can and instead swiftly moves backwards to grab a handful of noodles. Two by two she throws them at me as I continue my own assault on her.

We laugh as we move so we're each on opposite sides of the island, ducking and covering; my mother's granite kitchen now turned war-zone.

"Wait, Jade!" I hear her exclaim, laughing hard as she taps the counter. Slowly I make my way up to peek over the filthy countertop and see Vega's arm extended up as she waves around a napkin.

"Is that supposed to be your way of waving a white flag?" I throw my head back in laughter and she stands up, looking down at me with eyes narrowed playfully.

"Shut up, it's all I could find," she sticks her tongue out at me as I stand up and examine the damage. Both of us are covered in pasta sauce and noodles, looking like human spaghetti and the kitchen looks pretty similar to us. Vega follows my line of sight and gasps, a hand flying to cover her mouth.

"Oh, I'm so sorry about the mess, Jade, I shouldn't have –"

"No," I cut her off, smiling softly as I make my way to her and rub her arms soothingly, "Don't be sorry. I haven't had that much fun since our last date."

She blushes and looks down, a crooked smile playing at her lips. "That _was_ really fun actually, but we do still have a few things to talk about," she mumbles. Using my thumb, I wipe away a bit of sauce from the corner of her mouth before leaning down to kiss the same spot, my lips lingering longer than necessary.

"So let's talk."

…

**A/N (again): oh wow, I think this is the longest chapter I've done so far! Fingers are crossed that you guys liked it and reviews would be lovely pretty please (:**


	12. Two Steps Forward

"Come on," I murmur softly, latching onto her hand, "Let's go get cleaned up and then we can talk."

"Wait, what about the mess?" she asks, looking back at the kitchen with her lip between her teeth. I smirk and pull her forward to lead her up to my room.

"Don't worry about it, Vega; I'm just going to blame the whole thing on you anyways," I tease as I lead her up the stairs.

"Hey, it was just as much your fault as it was mine," she counters, earning a chuckle from me. Walking into my bedroom, I reluctantly let go of Vega's hand and go to my drawer. I grab a pair of denim shorts and a black tank top and turn around to hand them to Vega, who's awkwardly standing just behind me. "Here, you can clean off in the bathroom and change into these cause I doubt you'll wanna keep wearing _those_," I say, glancing down at her stained outfit. Personally, I think she looks adorable covered in pasta sauce and noodles, but I know how uncomfortable it is, considering I'm covered too. She smiles and takes them from me, our fingers brushing gently.

"Thanks," she blushes slightly as she turns and leaves my room to head to the bathroom. While she's in there, I take out black jeans and a black shirt for myself and quickly change into them. I smile to myself as I think of how well the night is going then frown slightly, knowing the real reason we're here is still to come.

A quiet knock at my door interrupts my thoughts as I finish putting on my shirt. I open the door and see Vega standing on the other side of it wearing my clothes, which I must say look pretty damn good on her.

"Nice," I smirk, looking her up and down. She blushes again, deeper this time, and looks down shyly. "Thanks," she breathes out before looking back up at me, "So should we go back downstairs to talk?"

I study her eyes for a moment, trying my best to figure out what lies in them but come up short. I hate that I've turned them so unreadable, but I know now isn't the time for these thoughts. "Sure, let's go," I smile and carefully wrap an arm around her waist as we walk back down, slightly afraid of pushing things too far again. _Okay, so 'slightly' might be a tad bit of an understatement, _I admit to myself. We get ourselves situated on the couch, Vega seated on my lap with her back against the sofa's armrest, me not allowing her to sit anywhere else. She's quiet for a moment, as am I; neither of us too sure where to begin.

"Can I just start by asking you something that's been bugging me this whole time?" she wonders suddenly, not looking me in the eye.

"Of course, you can ask me anything." I wrap both arms around her torso and keep a tight hold on her so she doesn't run off like she'd done after we kissed at the movies.

"Why did you do it? Why did you make that bet on me?"

I look down, feeling the regret wash over me all over again as I hear the hurt in her voice. I don't know how to make my answer clear, hell I don't even know _how_ to answer, but I'm damn sure going to try. "Honestly…because…because, well I didn't –" I sigh and then take a breath before continuing, staring at the wall the whole time, "I have feelings for you and I didn't want to admit them, I just told myself I was only physically attracted to you and I don't know, that seemed like an escape route almost," I shrug, still looking anywhere but at the girl in my arms.

"Escape route?" she questions, "What do you mean?" I finally allow myself to peek at her, trying my best to not look away this time.

"I mean that I thought I _only_ wanted to have sex with you and making that bet with Robbie let me try and do what I wanted without having to explain my reasoning to anyone, even myself. But I fell for you and…" I take a deep breath and pull her chin up to look her dead in the eye, "I love you, Tori," I say for the second time in my life. I hear her breath hitch in her in her throat and my heart starts to race in fear and anticipation. I know it's unfair of me to hope for her to feel the same and repeat those three little words back to me, but honestly who would _want_ unrequited love?

"Jade…" she sighs, "I would be lying if I said—"

The front door slamming stops both of us mid-conversation and we turn our heads to look over and see my mother entering the house with two shopping bags on her arms. I groan quietly and throw my head back against the couch, my arms tightening around Vega's waist to keep me calm and stop myself from snapping at my mother for being back so soon.

"Hey, mom, what are you doing here already?" I ask through gritted teeth.

"Hi, Ms. West," Vega smiles sweetly and I'm secretly grateful they like each other, though I'll never admit it to either one of them.

"Hello, ladies," Mom smiles back and comes to stand in front of the couch, "I'm sorry, I tried to stay out longer but there's only so much I can do," she shrugs, looking slightly sorry but mostly amused. Vega looks at me with eyebrows raised and a sly smile on her lips. "You kicked out your own mom?" she asks with a small chuckle.

"Yup," I smirk unashamed, "I wanted it to be just you and I tonight." She rolls her eyes as she turns to look my mother and says apologetically, "I'm sorry, you shouldn't have had to leave your own home; next time I'll be sure it's Jade who gets outta here." To be honest, all I heard was 'next time.' _So there _is_ going to be a next time,_ I think as I try to contain the goofy grin that's threatening to make an appearance.

"Y'know, I've always liked her," my mother smirks, breaking me out of my thoughts. I roll my eyes and smile, one of my hands moving up to rub Vega's back lightly. Mom squeezes Vega's shoulder as she passes us and makes her way to the kitchen. I smile softly and lean down to put my mouth near Vega's ear.

"Three…two…one," I whisper before kissing the spot behind her ear. Just as she starts to give me a quizzical look, we both hear a loud "_Jadelyn, my kitchen!_" from the next room. I put my face in her hair to stifle my laugh then pull back a bit.

"Sorry, ma, Tori's really clumsy!" I call, keeping my eyes locked on Tori's, "I tried my best to keep to keep her out of the kitchen," I sigh exaggeratedly, shaking my head.

"Jade!" Vega scolds, playfully whacking me in the arm with a look of disbelief on her face. Mom marches back into the living room, her hands on her hips but instead of the angry scowl I expect, she looks just as amused as before. She stands there quietly for a second, as if thinking something over.

"Mhm," she nods, "Keep it up, Jade, I'll trade you for her," she points at the girl on my lap, causing said girl to blush and look away.

"That would be a punishment for her, not me," I mutter. Mom's look of amusement fades into a small thoughtful smile as she looks between the two of us.

"Good to see you're back, Tori," she states simply, letting her arms fall to her side as she walks away from us and heads upstairs, either to her office or bedroom, I assume. We decide to just sit there for a minute, letting the silence surround us comfortably.

"So where were we before?" I murmur, resting a hand on her thigh.

"Um, you told me you love me…" she trails off, looking me in the eye, "And I was just about to tell you that I'd be lying if I said I didn't love you back."

My eyebrows shoot up and my eyes widen in surprise, a large unnatural grin on my face. "Really?" I question in disbelief, "You love me?" She smiles slightly and nods, but I know there's more to come because she doesn't look as happy as someone in love should. She doesn't look as happy as I _feel_.

"I do, Jade, and I told Beck about it but he said—"

"Wait, you told _Beck_?" I confirm. _That's what the bastard was hiding from me_, I scoff quietly to myself.

"Yeah," she continues, fidgeting with her hands, "and he said I should keep it to myself and try moving on. Said you were still trying to use me." I feel my hand that's placed on her thigh ball into a tight fist as my breathing accelerated in anger. _No,_ I tell myself, _kill him later, and tend to her now._ I put my index finger under her chin and gently ease her head up to look at me.

"Listen to me," I say firm and confident, "I don't care _what_ that idiot has to say and I don't want you to care about it either. He's a liar and he just wants you all to himself, but that won't ever happen as long as I'm around. You're mine, Vega, whether we're together as lovers, friends, or enemies; it doesn't matter," I growl possessively, my eyes flickering to her lips as I hear her breath hitch just as it did earlier.

"Seems like everyone I care about has lied to me," she forces a slight smile at me, but I don't return it.

"Okay, so I did deserve that one," I sigh, "but you have to believe me when I say that I love you and I want you back where you belong." I wrap my arms around her waist completely and give a tight squeeze to get my point across, to tell her she belongs _here_ with _me._ Old habits tell me to roll my eyes at my own corniness, but I repress the urge, knowing now really isn't the time for that. "I won't ever do anything to intentionally hurt you ever again, I promise you."

"That sounds better than I ever imagined. I guess I just need reassurance that we're on the same page about everything..." she trails off, her voice ending in a slight whisper.

"And what page of the story are you on?" I whisper, leaning down to nuzzle my face in the crook of neck. Her closeness is the only reassurance _I _have right now.

"At the moment?" she muses aloud, "The page where the seemingly brave explorer is lost and finally has to admit to themselves that they're terrified and they just want to go home," she sighs, wrapping her arms around my neck and bringing us closer together.

"Sweetheart, I can guarantee you we are _definitely_ on the same page there." I chuckle humorlessly and hear her do the same. We fall into silence again and just when I'm beginning to think Tori's drifted off to sleep, I feel her shift against me, reaching down into her pocket to pull her phone out.

"I better get going," she says, slowly climbing off of me and standing up.

"Already?" I whine, frowning deeply and standing up next to her. "We haven't even had dinner yet, Vega."

She smirks and tilts her head to the side. "Yeah and who's fault was that?"

"Yours." I reply automatically. She gives a genuine laugh, something I'm extremely glad to hear.

"No, it was _our_ fault, Miss I-won't-stoop-to-your-level," she counters as she heads to the door with me following close behind like a lost puppy. She opens the door and I snatch her wrist before she can get too far.

"Wait, um, where does this leave us?" I ask nervously.

"I'm honestly not too sure," she smiles, making me even more nervous, "But I'm glad to know you're as afraid as I am; it really does help." She starts to slip out of my grip so I move one hand up to cup her face and the other goes down to her waist. I pull her to me and rest my forehead on, closing my eyes contently.

"Baby," I whisper, the pet slipping past my lips without permission, "Can I…can I kiss you?"

She brushes her nose against mine and tangles a hand in my hair. "Yes," she whispers when our lips are a few centimeters apart. It's a simple answer, but it's the only one I need. I press my lips against hers passionately, making up for all our lost times that this could have been happening. Her lips mold against mine with equal fervor as she tilts her head to the side for better access. I run my tongue across her bottom lip slowly, practically _begging_ for entrance. It's granted with ease and as our tongues meet, our kisses become quicker and more frantic, both of us pulling away for a mere second before reconnecting over and over again. She moans into my mouth and I swallow it gratefully, my hands traveling down her back to take her wonderful ass in my hands as I give it an appreciative squeeze. Our heated make-out session soon comes to a natural end, our breathing labored and my heart beating rapidly out of control. My eyes open and I see her looking up at me with a goofy smile on her face, one that _I _put there.

So quickly that I don't even realize it at first, Tori's out of my arms and down the steps, headed towards her car. I blink a few times, my arms now feeling noticeably empty as I watch her walk away from me.

"Wait, when can I see you again?" I call out, walking out onto the porch. She stops in her tracks and turns to face me, a smirk on her face. The wind is blowing her hair all around her, her arms pulled behind her as she slowly sways from side to side and I don't think I've ever seen someone so naturally beautiful.

"Well, tomorrow _is_ Monday and we _do_ go to the same school so I guess you'll see me there," she smiles sweetly, making me roll my eyes. Without another word she turns and goes to get in her car, leaving me to stand alone on the porch. "Tease," I mumble to myself as I head back inside and slam the door shut. With my arms crossed, I go up the stairs and round the corner to my mom's room. It's times like these, when my thoughts are racing and my palms are clammy, that she suddenly holds all the answers. Or maybe it just seems like that to me, but in reality the advice is crap. I really don't know.

I knock once before slowly opening the door and leaning against the doorway. Mom is sitting in bed with glasses framing her face and a laptop on her lap as she types away. She hesitates, clicking two more keys before looking up and giving a surprised smile.

"Oh, hey, sweetie," she closes the laptop slightly, "What brings you up here?"

I sigh and make my way completely inside, crawling onto the bed until I'm lying on my bed next to her. "Mom," I start quietly, "How do you earn someone's trust back?" I stare up at the white ceiling, my hands on my stomach as I wait for her response.

"Is that what you and Tori broke up over?" she asks softly. When I don't reply she continues with, "Well, it's not really something _you_ can _do_, it's more dependent on the other person. They have to rely on their own sense of whether you're trustworthy or not. But the trick really is just forgive and forget." I look over and see her staring at me with concerned eyes as I take it all in.

"And what if she's scared? What if I am too?" I wonder aloud, moving my eyes back up to the ceiling.

"That's a good thing because it means you'll be scared together. And I'm sure that that's all Tori wants right now, is to know that from here on out everything will be done together without secrets and lies."

**. . . . . . .**

**A/N: I'm so glad you're all enjoying the story! But if you can't already tell, it'll probably be ending soon for a number of reasons. Mostly because I feel it'll probably get boring soon and I don't think anyone wants me to just keep dragging it on. So yeah, only a few more chapters though that is still debatable. And let me know what you thought of this one :)**


	13. Three Steps Back

I groan and stretch out my sore limbs, thinking over the previous night's events. Tori came over and we talked. We made out. We basically made up. I told her I love her and she said she loves me back. I smile at the thought as I get out of bed and make my way into the bathroom to get dressed for school. _Ugh, school_. The thought immediately makes my smile fall as I think of all I'm going to have to deal with. From threatening Beck to finally clearing up where Tori and I stand and all the classes and chiz in between, today should definitely be interesting.

**. . . . . . . . . .**

Walking into school, the first thing I'm determined to do is find the gank who told my girlf—I mean Tori, that I was still using her. I push past kids, not caring about whose shoulders I'm accidentally hitting with my own. I spot Beck at his locker, taking out a few papers and inspecting them carefully as if to be sure they're the right ones and then stuffing them into his backpack. With a low growl in the back of my throat, I march over to him, my boots hitting the aluminum floor hard with each step I take.

"Hey, _Beck,"_ I exclaim, standing directly behind him with my arms crossed over my chest. He sighs and turns to face me, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"What do you want, Jade?"

"Why did you tell Vega that I was still using her? Huh?" I uncross my arms move closer to get right in his face, "You _know_ I love her, I told you that!" I stomp my foot like a child who's about to throw a tantrum as I try to keep my voice from rising too high. The last thing I need is a bunch of high school idiots overhearing the confrontation and filling in Vega about it.

"Look," Beck starts, refocusing my attention on him, "I'm really sorry, but I wanted a chance with Tori," he smile sheepishly, his eyes going to the ground and his feet shuffling awkwardly before mumbling, "Can you blame me?"

I swallow hard and take a deep breath to keep from snapping. "No, I can't; I know how amazing that girl is," I smirk slightly for a brief second before turning serious again. "But don't ever lie to her again. She's had enough of that from the rest of us." I shake my head and frown, hoping he'll understand what I'm trying to say. She needs him and wants him, but only as a _friend._ _The lover part will be left to me_, I think with a cocky smile.

"Yeah, I get that," he breathes out, "I'll back off." He throws his hands up in defeat, looking me in the eye. For the first time since I've met him, I'm briefly appreciative of the fact that Beck is such a pushover. He looks slightly upset over this, but I couldn't care less at the moment. I would have cared if…no, I never would have cared.

"Good," I say firmly, giving a small nod. Awkwardness surrounds us as I scan the halls for signs of the younger Vega.

"Do you know if she's talking to the other three again?" I ask suddenly, looking at Beck again.

"Um, I know she and Cat are somewhat friends again, but not as close as before and Andre is still trying to work up the nerve to talk to her in person, but he said he'd try soon," he shrugs, rolling his eyes. "What about Robbie?" I ask and Beck gives me a look that says '_seriously?'_

"Right, he's too chicken shit," I mutter, answering my own question. I roll my eyes and walk away wordlessly, not bothering to give any sort of end to the conversation. He knew it was over when things got awkward. My eyes continue to scan the hallway as I reach my locker and slowly open it, not in any real hurry. I stand there, pretending to rummage through my things and look through my phone as I wait for any signs of the thin brunette.

About fifteen minutes later, my shoulders slump as the bell rings and I find myself dragging my feet to first period in disappointment.

**. . . . . . . . . .**

Soon enough I'm seated in my usual seat in Sikowitz's class. I'm one of the first people to come in today, which earns me a few looks of surprise, but one glare from me has them quickly retreating. I'm still slightly pissed at the whole Beck thing, but I know my day will turn around soon. Or at least, I _hope_ it will.

My backpack is resting in the empty seat next to me, a place saved for Vega, which was the whole reason for my coming in early today. I have the whole scenario planned out in perfect detail in my head. She'll come in, see that I have the place saved for her, and then sit down gratefully. I'll wrap my arm around her and she'll lean in close to put her head on my shoulder as neither of us really pay too much attention to whatever crazy thing Sikowitz is going on about today. Finally, we'll kiss and the world will be right again. _Okay, chill out there_, _hopeless romantic,_ I mentally scold myself. _Looks like_ _Vega's rubbed off on you just a little bit there._ I subtly roll my eyes at myself and huff, leaning back against my chair to get comfortable. Well, as comfortable as one can get in a plastic chair.

The final bell for class rings and there's still no Vega. I repress a groan and slink down into the chair. Sikowitz claps his hands together and starts telling us some story of one of his director buddies. None of my attention is given to him, all of it focused on glancing back and forth between the door and the ground.

A few minutes pass when the door opens and in walks the girl I've been searching for all day. Instantly, I perk up, sitting straight and reaching over to move my stuff off the seat next to me for her to come sit. She looks a bit disheveled, her hair pulled up in a messy ponytail, her shirt wrinkly and riding up a bit to expose some of the smooth skin on her stomach. It's a surprisingly delicious sight, one I could easily get used to.

"You're _late_," Sikowitz states in obvious manner as his hands go to rest on his hips.

"I know," she sighs, "Trina was–"

"Enough said," Sikowitz waves his hand in dismissal, letting her off the hook just like I'm sure everyone knew he would. She nods and smiles slightly, glancing my way. I smirk as she makes her way over to sit in the empty seat I saved specifically for her. _This is it,_ I think as Sikowitz picks up where he left off in his story. I lift an arm and move it up to place it on the back of her seat, leaving it there for a few seconds. Just as I'm about to put my arm around her shoulder, she scoots forward out of reach. Half of her ass is practically off the chair as she leans forward, pretending to listen to Sikowitz.

_What the hell?_ I think, slightly hurt. Awkwardly and reluctantly, I bring my arm back to me and rest my hands in my lap. I look over to see she's scooted back into her chair just a little bit, but enough that it's noticeable. The hurt returns and I think over last night once more, trying to find the place where I went wrong, but coming up short. I can't pinpoint any sort of rejection; if anything it was the opposite. She wanted me like I wanted her. Why are things seemingly different today?

The rest of class is full of Sikowitz talking and me not listening and Tori avoiding any eye contact whatsoever. It's frustrating and angering and I can feel myself starting to get heated as the time ticks on. When the class ends, she jumps out of her seat and rushes past me to the exit. I roll my eyes and quickly follow, my hand wrapping around her wrist just as she steps out the door. I spin her around to face me, somewhat angry.

"What the hell is going on with you?" I ask harshly. _No, don't do that you dumbass!_ I decide to ignore my own conscience.

"Here isn't the place, Jade," she sighs, looking like she's out of options.

"Alright," I reply smoothly, tugging her forward until we're at the janitor's closet. I shove her inside gently, a huge contrast to my tone of voice just now, and lock the door behind us.

"Talk," I demand, folding my arms tightly.

"Jade, please, you I know I love you, but did you really expect things to just go back to normal?" she asks in disbelief.

"Somewhat," I scoff, "I at _least_ thought you'd go back to being my girlfriend."

She looks down and takes a deep shaky breath. "I'm still debating that," she admits in a small voice. My eyebrows shoot up as does my anger and frustration.

"Really, Vega? After last night, confessing what we did, you think we're just going to be _friends_ now?" I throw my hands up dramatically and run a hand through my hair roughly.

"No, Jade, I just need to figure out where we go from here and _how_ we do that," she mumbles, sounding a tiny bit scared.

"Look at me," I say firmly. Her eyes slowly and hesitantly rise to meet mine. Taking a step forward, I try to steady myself, but I know I'm at that point where I'm ready to snap. "I _fucking _love you, Vega!" I exclaim. "Why do you think I'm still fucking _here_? What is there left to figure out?" When she doesn't answer I do it for her. "You know what, screw _you_, Vega," I spit out.

She flinches at the harshness of my voice and shrugs, her eyes casting downward once again. I shake my head and turn around to stomp out the door, slamming it shut behind me. I don't even _think_ about going to the quad for lunch, instead storming out of the school.

"Wait, Jade, please!" I hear her voice call from behind, but I don't dare turn around.

**. . . . . . . . . . **

I get home at the speed of light, throwing my backpack to the ground as I march upstairs, my boots scraping against the wooden floors, leaving scratches behind in their place. I throw open the door to my room, breathing hard as the anger inside of me rages on. I scream out loud and knock the lamp off my bedside table, barely registering the sound of it smashing to pieces on the ground. I slam my fist into the wall beside me, feeling the sting of the punch right away. I sit down on the bed and put my head in my hands as the day's disappointment slowly fades into the background as I realize how bad I've just backtracked my progress with Tori.

_Shit._


	14. You, Me, Dancing

**A/N: I'm sorry to say this is the last chapter :( I really don't want to end it yet, but with school and everything I don't think I'll be able to keep up with updates. Thanks to everyone for all the reviews and support!**

**. . . . . . . . . . **

I knock loudly on the Vega's front door, my knuckles burning at each touch on the wood. The door swings open, a bright smiling Mrs. Vega standing on the other side.

"Oh, hello, Jade," she greets warmly; obviously ignorant to everything that's been taking place in her daughter's life the past few weeks. I briefly wonder if she was ever even aware of the fact we were once dating.

"Hi," I say awkwardly, not bothering to even attempt to fake a smile, "Um, is Tori here?"

She glances over her shoulder into the house before looking back at me, her smile turning apologetic. "I'm sorry, you just missed her." I take a deep breath and run a hand through my hair, suddenly anxious.

"Do you know where she went?" I ask, trying to disguise the worry in my voice with curiosity, but to little avail. "I need to talk to her about something important," I quickly add to give more incentive.

"Well, I think she mentioned something about the play—"

"Oh, of course!" I exclaim, suddenly remembering tonight is one of the performance nights, "Thank you, Mrs. Vega," I call out, running down the steps and quickly climbing into my car. I race through the green lights, surpassing the speed limit as I go, my thoughts racing along with everything else around me. _How could I be so stupid?_ _How could I say all that to her?_

Thanks to my speeding, I'm at the school in a matter of minutes, screeching to a stop in one of the empty spaces. I get out and run inside through crowded halls and bustling people until I'm inside the Black Box Theatre. Out of the corner of my eye I catch Sikowitz at the side of the stage, biting his nails and looking around nervously. I frantically walk over to him, slightly thrown off by his nervous stance. _Vega always does great in these performances, what is there to be nervous about?_

"Sikowitz," I say curtly, standing in front of him, "Where's Vega?" He stops chewing on his nails and looks at me, eyes wide with fear as he throws his hands up in exasperation.

"I have no idea! She called earlier and said she couldn't make it," he sighs deeply before mumbling, "Now we have to use that wonky understudy. Who _knows_ how that's going to go?"

My eyebrows shoot up in surprise at this, my mouth gaping. "What– She isn't here to do the play? She _always_ does her performances," I muse, really more to myself than Sikowitz. He starts to say something else when I interrupt with, "What did she say she's doing instead?"

"She didn't say," he shrugs. And as quick as I got in the theater, I'm back out even quicker without another word and into my car. But I don't leave; I don't do anything but sit there, my head back against the seat and my hands clutching the steering wheel, making the stinging sensation in my knuckles flare up. I literally don't know where to go from here. My eyes shoot open as one name comes to mind: _Beck._ With that, I start up the engine and get back onto the road again. If only I'd kept my damn mouth shut. This whole thing could have been avoided. We could have been done with all this running around in circles. _We were so close. _I shake my head, as frustrated and angry at myself as ever.

I pull over in front of Beck's driveway, hopeful she's there, but the small voice in the back of my head continues to remind me not to let those hopes get too high. _That was what made you snap in the first place, dumbass._ I lightly knock on Beck's trailer door, knowing he's home and awake from the light shining through the window's curtains. A few seconds pass before the door opens, Beck standing at the doorway with a look of expectation.

"Figured you'd show up," he mutters, opening the door wider so I can step through. We quietly stand in the middle of his trailer, facing each other, each waiting on the other to speak first.

"Where is she?" I ask firmly, deciding a long overdue break of silence is necessary already.

"Jade," he sighs, slumping down onto his couch, "It seems like there's a pattern forming here."

"Save it," I roll my eyes and cross my arms over my chest impatiently, not bothering to sit down, "I _know_ I keep screwing everything up, but I swear to God I'm going to make it right for good this time."

He gives a pleading look as he stares up at me. "Just leave it all alone this time, _please_."

"Leave it _alone_?" I scoff, unfolding my arms, fed up and tired already. "Tell me where she went," I say slowly, "and I'll be on my way."

This time it's Beck who rolls his eyes, obviously just as ready to be done with me as I am ready to be over with him. We stare at one another for a few moments, the silent battle raging on between the two of us. It takes a minute or two, maybe three, but finally he lets out a breath and breaks the eye contact to stare down at the floor.

"She was over for a bit before Trina came to get her," he admits, still refusing to meet my gaze, "She told Tori that she needed to get out and get over you. From what I _heard_ they were planning on going to some bar called Ember."

"Trina took _my_ Tori to a _bar_?" I groan and slap my hand my forehead, ignoring the smirk Beck flashes me at the possession I take over Tori.

"You know, you don't own her, Jade," he says bravely. I raise an eyebrow, challenging him to say something else. "Well?" he inquires after a moment, "Are you just going to keep standing there or are you gonna go get her?"

**. . . . . . . . . . .**

_I hate bars_, I think as I walk into the small run down building. I'm immediately hit with the scent of alcohol and smoke as soon as I enter. I slowly walk up to the bar and sit on one of the stools in the corner, my eyes scanning the room. There's a small dance floor, surrounded by old tables that are full of people who are drinking and laughing. The place is noisy, complete with music playing overhead and two large televisions hanging on the wall that each has a different sports game playing.

I look to the dance floor once again to see that there only a few people dancing and none of them are Tori or Trina. I sigh and slump over the counter.

"You okay there?" I hear a woman's voice ask and look up to see the bartender eyeing me with a concerned look on her face. She's in extremely short shorts and a tight fitting shirt, complete with what some might call the "whole package" but I can't help but think how she's nothing compared to Vega.

"Yeah, I just thought someone would be here," I mumble, my finger tracing random patterns in the bar countertop.

"Is it a special guy?" she asks curiously as she picks up an empty glass and starts to clean the inside with a dishrag. I shake my head and glance around again.

"Special_ girl_," I admit. A look of understanding crosses her features and she puts the glass down, eyes darting around the room.

"What does this special girl look like?"

"Brunette, brown eyes, long hair, she's here with a short and annoying look alike," I chuckle humorlessly.

"_Oh,_" the bartender squeaks, "You mean _her_?" She points towards the far back of the bar and I immediately sit up straight in my seat, straining to see over the people. I finally see Tori and Trina coming out of a doorway that's marked with the round blue and white sign for 'girl's restroom.' Her eyes are slightly red and the expression she wears on her face as she looks around says she doesn't want to be here just as much as _I_ don't want her here. I continue to watch as Trina, seemingly oblivious to her little sister's discomfort, starts to hit on two guys at a nearby table. Tori stands back awkwardly, hair falling forward and eyes cast downward.

"Yeah, that's her," I say to the bartender as I slowly stand off my seat, keeping my sights on Tori, "Thanks."

Creeping up from behind unnoticed, I firmly place my hands on her waist and quickly spin her around to face me, leaving her no time to protest. "_J-Jade_, what are you doing here?" she sputters in surprise.

"Get out of here, Jade," Trina demands, coming to stand just behind Tori, "We were having fun and she needs to be without you right now."

"_Fun_?" I scoff, gripping Tori's waist tighter and pulling her closer to me and farther from her crazy sister. "Trina, have you asked her if she's having _fun_? One look at her and you can see she doesn't even want to _be_ here."

"_Well_," Tori starts, ripping away from my grasp, "Since it's obvious I'm not needed for this conversation, I'll just be on my way." She turns and walks away towards the exit, leaving Trina and I standing there dumbstruck.

"You just _couldn't _stay away, could you?" she hisses, smacking my arm.

"_Never_ touch me," I growl, "And I'm going after her; you can stay and do whatever it is annoying Trina's do," I mutter before following the same path marked by Tori out the door. I look around frantically when I step out and see she's not right outside, my mind going through a million different scenarios all at once, all ending badly.

"Tori?" I call out, walking down the sidewalk. I hear shuffling from behind and spin around, going down the opposite direction quickly. Passing a dimly lit alley way, a moving figure catches my eye. I stop in my tracks and turn to see Tori leaning against the wall alone, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, the think tank top she's wearing offering little protection against the nighttime cold.

"Tori," I breathe out in relief, slowly and silently going to stand in front of her. She keeps her eyes down, not bothering to even acknowledge my existence.

"Please say something," I practically beg, needing some sort of reassurance right now.

"I don't know what you want me to say," she shrugs, still not looking at me. I take a step towards her, but still leave just a small amount of distance between our bodies. I put my hands on her shoulders and begin to rub up and down her arms, hoping to help warm her up. I feel her shiver under my palms and I instinctively pull her against me, wrapping my arms around her completely, lending her my body heat. I feel her small hands grip at my shirt as she buries her face in my neck.

"Jade…" she says quietly.

"Shhh," I press my lips to her forehead gently, "Forget it for now. I was wrong; you don't need to say anything. And I'm sorry for what I said before and I'm so sorry for everything I've done to you, Tori."

Her hold on me tightens, each of us clinging onto the other for dear life. "I do want to be with you, Jade, you know that," she says slowly.

"Well then be with me," I say before she can continue. I pull away a bit to look her in the eye, one of my hands reaching up to cup her face. "I know we've still got a lot to work out, but I can't stand knowing that anyone else has a chance with you. I told you before, you're mine." I stroke her cheek with my thumb, reveling in the feel of her soft skin beneath my finger.

She contemplates this for what feels like forever, her eyes burning with confusion. "You know what," I interrupt her thought process, "Don't answer that just yet. Right now, let's just dance," I take my arms from around her and pull my hand from her face. I grab her forearms gently and bring them up to wrap them around my neck before gripping her waist and swaying us from side to side.

"What are you doing?" she smiles slightly in confusion, "There's no music. And we're in an alley outside of a bar,"

"So?" I shrug, "It may not be romantic, but at least it's us."

Her smile grows as her eyes begin to shine in some sort of realization as she runs a hand through my hair softly. We continue our dance for a few glorious minutes before I can't hold back the question burning on my lips any longer. "So what do you say?" I whisper, leaning in close to her ear, nuzzling my face in her auburn locks.

"I love you," she states simply. I pull away slightly and lift her hand up in the air to spin her around twice before pulling her back into me and crushing our lips together. She responds immediately, her lips gliding over mine hungrily. Anyone watching us might have sworn it had been a million years since our kiss, and to be honest that's what it feels like. Her tongue pokes through my lips teasingly and I growl in response, wanting all of her, not just a small taste. Devouring each other, we barely register a loud "Ew!" come from behind us. Tori pulls away slightly, but I mumble, "No, no, no, I don't care what she thinks," against her lips and capture her mouth with mine once again. This time our kisses are rushed and urgent as I know it won't last longer thanks to Trina's whining in the background. "Come on, Tori, we have to go!" she exclaims, making me want to punch her for interrupting our moment.

Tori pulls away completely, much to my displeasure, and looks at her sister in annoyance while keeping herself wrapped around me.

"Don't tell me you two are back together," Trina looks me up and down in disgust, but I keep my eyes locked on Tori, awaiting her answer.

"Yeah, we are," she says softly, leaning her head against my chest. I let out a sigh of relief, holding her close, unable to contain the smile that's breaking through.

"We are?" I question, bringing her attention back to me. She smiles and nods, leaning up to leave a quick kiss on my lips.

"You two are so screwed up," Trina scoffs, "You're never gonna last," she says in a sing song voice, looking between the two of us with a smug look that she really can't pull off. She

"Wanna bet?" Tori smirks, glancing up at me and reminding me of all the reasons why I love her.


End file.
